'Take a rickshaw or Uber': Manager tells employee amid Pune downpour, netizens react

A WhatsApp exchange between a Pune employee and his manager about reporting to work during heavy rain and road closures has sparked criticism online after the manager declined to approve leave and urged the employee to find alternate transport. 

In the screenshot shared on the Pune subreddit by a friend of the employee, the worker informed his manager: “Hello, sir. Due to the rain and road closures, I won't be able to come to work today.” The manager’s reply, which has drawn rebuke from social media users, urged the employee to “take public transport".

When the employee reiterated that travel was unsafe, the manager responded, "I cannot approve it. We've all travelled to work,” and added, “People have travelled by local train to get to work.” He went on to tell the employee to “Take a rickshaw or an Uber, but make it to work.”

The screenshot prompted a wave of comments on Reddit, where users criticised the manager’s stance. “Name and shame the company,” one commenter wrote. Another recounted a similar experience and sarcastically noted the mismatch between pay and commuting demands: “My Rs 6,000 internship boss said the same. I replied, ‘Wish I could take an Uber on this humongous stipend.’”

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Some users contrasted the incident with companies that prioritise employee safety. “My company is strictly asking everyone to work from home for employees' safety, even if they prefer coming to the office,” one commenter said. Another summed up the sentiment: “This is the cost of working in Pune. You choose your comfort zone, and you end up working in such companies."