Claim: A company in India supposedly conducted a survey among its employees asking about the stress levels, and fired those who responded that they were experiencing “significant stress.”
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: A post on X (formerly Twitter) by user @pitdesi shared a screenshot that was purportedly of a Human Resources (HR) email from a company in India called YesMadam.
YesMadam is a start-up company that offers home salon services. It was featured on the Indian version of the investment reality television show, Shark Tank.
The email was sent by Ashu Ahora Ja, a HR manager, and appeared to be an internal email to company employees.
The email referred to a survey conducted among the employees of the company about work-related stress. It said that to “ensure no one remains stressed at work,” the company would “part ways” with employees who indicated “significant stress.”
It added that the decision is “effective immediately.”
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The facts: According to various media outlets, the initial screenshot of the email was shared by an employee of the company named Anushka Dutta. She claimed to be among those who have been fired after taking part in the survey in a LinkedIn post.
However, the company responded via a public LinkedIn post on December 10.
It clarified that no one was fired at YesMadam, and the posts were part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise awareness of mental health and workplace stress.
It announced two new corporate policies. The first, Happy 2 Heal, offers head massages and spa sessions at the workplace. The second, De-Stress Leave, includes six days of paid leave annually for mental health breaks.
It also thanked those who shared “angry comments” or “strong opinions,” as speaking up showed that they cared.
Anushka Dutta also responded. She deleted her initial post, and put up a new one on December 10 “spilling the beans,” and revealing that it was indeed a marketing stunt. – Rappler.com
Sulaiman Daud is a 2024 #FactsMatter fellow of Rappler. He is a writer and editor at Mothership, Singapore’s youth-focused digital news platform.