‘They weren’t laid off,’ says Noida-based YesMadam after viral HR email to employees

YesMadam, a Noida-based home salon services company, on Tuesday clarified that the viral email from the Human Resources department of the company was a “planned effort”. It also tacitly denied that employees were fired for being “stressed” at work. 

The company said in a clarification posted on its social media account that the posts were a planned effort to highlight the issue of workplace stress.

The company said in its statement: “Were YesMadam employees really fired for being stressed? Absolutely not. They weren’t fired; they were given a break to reset. They weren’t let go; they were encouraged to release their stress; They weren’t laid off; they were offered a chance to relax; They weren’t sacked; they were urged to rest and recharge.

YesMadam came under scrutiny after one of its employees confirmed being fired along with 100 other employees in a LinkedIn post.

The employee said in the post: “What’s happening at YesMadam? First you conduct a random survey and then fire us overnight because we’re feeling stressed? And not just me, 100 other people have been fired too.”

It further mentioned that the company is introducing a new corporate program — Happy 2 Heal — for employees. Under this initiative, YesMadam offers head massages and spa sessions at the workplace to help employees unwind. 

Moreover, the home salon services company is introducing the country’s first-ever De-Stress Leave Policy.

Under this policy, every employee will get to avail 6 paid de-stress leaves annually for mental health and rejuvenation. The employees will also get a complimentary YesMadam spa session at home. 

The clarification by YesMadam was not received well by netizens as they questioned the usage of “part ways” in the HR mail. “Are we misunderstanding the ‘difficult decision to part ways?'” a user asked. 

A second user asked: “If that was the intention than why use the wording of ‘part ways’ and ‘effective immediately’??”

“Looks like your HR is feeling pretty stressed right now, maybe they should take an “extended unpaid vacation” from the company,” a third user said. 

A screenshot of the HR mail went viral on social media. As per this mail, the company conducted a survey on stress levels among its employees. Citing the findings of the survey, the company surprisingly decided to “part ways” with employees who said they were experiencing “major stress.”