The Coronavirus lockdown forcibly trapped employees to stick to their jobs they planned to leave due to toxic work culture.
Lockdowns forced employees to hold on to a job they planned to quit, causing added stress and anxiety.
Thousands of employees planned to quit their jobs and move to greener pastures during the first quarter of 2020 as they hated the workplace and toxic culture at office and as the Coronavirus lockdowns were announced globally- the chain of events led to job losses, no job security and no clear sight of the future.
The events led to an unprecedented mental health problem the work world had never seen and thousands were forced to suck it up and hold on the jobs they hated. The work from home option made things worse with long hours, stress, salary cuts, hiring freeze and were made to feel guilty by their top heads to being thankful for even have a job.
The thought of staying in their toxic job and quitting it without having another job in hand added to further anxiousness and sleepless nights about how to pay the rent, bills, manage children’s school fees, take care of elderly parents and still keep themselves sane despite all these made their dreams crash right in front of their eyes.
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The toll of working long hours at home has blurred the lines of professional and personal life and the notion to be ‘available’ at any time for con calls or reply to WhatsApp messages, emails further adds to the never ending stream of stress employees face during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kanika Agarwal, founder of mental health platform MindPeers offered insights on the growing number of employees stuck in a job with little or no way out. ”Gen Y is more aware of their feelings and think about what they like and dislike. They are asking themselves whether they are happy in their jobs, unlike the previous generations.”
However, there were a few employees who took their mental health seriously and quit their jobs despite knowing the fact there might not be opportunities for the next six months or more. Rashmi, resigned from her Consultant position in Delhi and now says she spends most of her time applying online for jobs.
“The gaslighting, the silent treatment, no feedback, pressure of work from home, it was all just getting too much. I was constantly thinking about work and what I was doing wrong, so much so that I wasn’t eating properly. I’m aware that the job market is bad and I have limited savings but I had to take the decision because you need mentors and leaders who push you to become better, not those who hurt your self-esteem,” she said to LiveMint.
