A former startup employee’s explosive Reddit post has ignited a fierce debate about startup culture in Gurugram. Under a post on subreddit. r/Delhi, the individual detailed how he was abruptly fired just 20 days after joining a Gurugram-based startup, allegedly for having an “attitude problem” and not being “down to earth.”
It all began on his third day at work. According to his post, his boss bluntly stated, “So I joined this startup in Gurgaon and on the third day my employer tells me I’m not down to earth, I have an attitude problem and this way we can’t work together.”
Though the employee tried to brush off the criticism—insisting, “I don’t attitude, I’ll work on it,”conflict soon escalated.
Casual tea breaks and occasional smoke sessions with two other new joiners, once a lighthearted bonding ritual, quickly became points of contention. The management frowned upon these gatherings, and even his punctual habit of clocking out precisely at 7 pm was deemed unacceptable.
Matters took a dramatic turn on the 20th day. The director, opting for an unconventional approach, reassigned him to work from the director’s cabin. “On the 20th day around the director or owner asked to work from his cabin instead of my desk and said for some days you’ll be working here only. Dude who works like that in a cabin all day with your director.”
The user further wrote, “I still agreed, but at 7 pm I was looking out of the cabin to see if one the colleague I made recently a friend has left or not for our day end Sutta and the director suddenly got frustrated and said why you looking outside I’m talking here this that and asked the hr to terminate me immediately.”
The controversy deepened a week later when the employee was summoned for a discussion regarding his termination. In a meeting attended by the director and his manager, a video recording was made of the conversation. When the employee attempted to record the exchange himself, the director retorted sharply, “over smartness gayi nhi abhi?” and dismissed the request, claiming he would share the recording later.
The post quickly resonated with fellow Redditors, many of whom voiced their support and outrage. One user cheered, “Its great that you left the place, Thats called Toxic Work environment.”
Another rallied for accountability, urging, “Name and shame the company. Let the truth be out. A company can only exist if its employees are good enough…”
A third user questioned why anyone would endure such treatment even for 15 days, while a fourth simply demanded the company be exposed.
Facing mounting public pressure, the ex-employee has since filed a complaint with the labor commissioner. He remains tight-lipped about the company’s name, citing ongoing legal proceedings and sensitive pending updates. However, he did note that the startup had provided study material for coaching centers—a detail that adds another layer to the unfolding controversy.
This case shines a spotlight on the volatile dynamics within some startups and underscores the growing willingness of employees to speak out against what they perceive as toxic workplace practices.