'Yes Madam' faces backlash after staged employee sacking to raise awareness on stress

Company clarifies that it was part of an effort to draw attention to the serious issue of workplace stress

An Indian beauty service start-up is facing backlash over a publicity campaign designed to highlight workplace stress.

According to BBC, the company’s email, which went viral on social media, stated that employees who had complained of stress would be let go.

The email quickly drew criticism, with many accusing the start-up of exploiting workers’ emotions in an attempt to garner attention.

The message claimed that stressed employees would no longer be employed, but the tactics backfired immediately as it perceived insensitive towards the very issue it aimed to highlight.

“We haven’t fired anyone,” the company clarified in a statement on Tuesday. “This is part of our effort to draw attention to the serious issue of workplace stress.”

Despite the clarification, the campaign continued to attract mixed reactions.

Some users praised the start-up for focusing on an important issue, while others condemned it for manipulating emotions and using stress as a tool for publicity.

One LinkedIn user remarked: "Free promotion done right, huh? Who needs a marketing budget when you have outrage as your social media manager?"

The campaign has sparked comparisons to another controversial publicity stunt by an Indian start-up.

In November, the founder of an Indian food delivery platform posted a job opening for a “chief of staff” position, stating that the candidate would not be paid for a year and would need to donate INR 2 million to the company’s non-profit venture.

The founder later claimed that the job posting attracted over 10,000 applications, although it remains unclear if anyone was hired.

In February, a celebrity faced widespread backlash after pretending to be dead to raise awareness for cervical cancer. Many criticised the stunt as traumatising for those who had lost loved ones to the illness.