Thread by @ashishrukhaiyar

What did you gain?

It's a simple question that I want to ask media houses that thought - and are still thinking - it's a good practice to terminate employees on the spot. The editor, board, management & HR all are collectively responsible but no one would reply.

Who will question the media, which prides itself in the power of questioning it has. Frankly, it doesn't matter if you say in private that I'm sorry and this shouldn't have happened. The fact remains it happened and it happened under your watch.

Were these the morals, ethics & values that the organisation was built on? Didn't you feel proud when the reporters brought you a story that revealed the unethical practices at various establishments, most notably the government! You would have put it on the front page too!

I'll go back to my question. What did you gain?

Or let me put it down the other way? What would you have lost if a person was allowed to go with dignity. No one was asking for the stars and the moon. All they wanted was dignity. Is that too much of an ask?

You were dealing with people who gave years of their life to your organisation. During the pandemic, they worked from home and some (depending on their beats) even ventured out risking themselves.

Never they thought they will be suddenly left high and dry in the middle of the desert with hardly any resource to manage the arduous journey ahead.

Let me stress here on the fact that an organisation is well within its rights to terminate anyone they want. But be a bit compassionate when you do since you may not just be ruining the sacked employee's career prospects but also putting at risk an entire family.

What would you have lost if you had given your employee a couple of months notice to stay in the job & find options elsewhere. It's elementary knowledge that it's easier to find a job when you've a job. Just like a bank will lend you ₹100 crore if you already have a few crores!

You could have just told them that you cannot afford their services and that they have, say two months to find a job. That would have given them some time to adjust their finances and look out aggressively.

How difficult that can be! Are you in such a dire situation that while on one hand you boast of a history and legacy that goes back to the pre-independence era and suddenly you can't afford a few employees for even two months!

That speaks more of the financial mismanagement or lack of vision of the business side and management than journalists who were busy chasing stories. But we didn't really hear of an editor or a CEO lose his job in the pandemic.

And it was not just a job loss. It was an insult. It was playing with their self-respect, integrity, commitment, absolutely everything that they were proud of. Is this something you'll be proud of when you look back and think about the way you handled it?

Reporters were sacked over the phone. Some were called to office & told to submit their resignation on the spot. News about discontinuation were pasted on notice boards. They were threatened if they do not resign, they would lose out on payouts that they are entitled under law.

There was absolutely no method in this madness. No memos, no performance related warnings, no red flags in appraisals, etc.

You may say that we gave them what was stated in their contract. Yes. But that's akin to saying that a person alleged to have committed a crime was acquitted after 20 years. Justice was definitely done but do you think that was the way it ought to be done?

So tell me... What did you really gain?

Disclaimer: I abruptly lost my job in June and so you may think my views are biased. It's alright. I forgive you 😉

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