A very head-scratching textual content trade between an Indian supervisor and his worker has taken the web by storm, sparking a fiery debate about hierarchy and communication in Indian workplaces.
The weird dialog, initially shared on Reddit, reveals a supervisor scolding his worker for not addressing him as “sir” in a sick depart message.
The incident has resonated with many, highlighting what some are calling an outdated emphasis on inflexible formalities, even in informal communications.
What occurred?
All of it started when the worker despatched a simple message informing his manager he was unwell and can be taking sick depart. The textual content learn: “Good morning. I wished to let you understand that I’m feeling a bit unwell at this time as a result of an upset abdomen – in all probability from one thing I ate yesterday.
I’ve utilized for depart on the app.”
The supervisor’s preliminary reply was abrupt and unclear: “Want solely at this time’s replace… Yesterday is gone.” This left the worker understandably confused, resulting in a collection of exchanges the place the supervisor’s directives remained muddled.
However the dialog took a pointy flip when the worker responded with a easy “Aa okay.” This seemingly innocuous reply appeared to essentially irk the supervisor.
“Reply in a very good method,” the supervisor shot again. When the worker, nonetheless bewildered, requested what was impolite about his message, the supervisor’s true grievance grew to become clear: “You’ll be able to say okay sir,” he defined, explicitly stating his demand to be addressed as “sir.”
He went on to nitpick the worker’s alternative of phrases, insisting, “And it’s a must to inform me… not let me know. Strive utilizing good phrases when speaking to a senior supervisor.” This was regardless of the supervisor’s personal messages being riddled with grammatical errors.
The back-and-forth continued, with the worker sustaining his messages have been well mannered and the supervisor stubbornly disagreeing, even offering an instance of what he deemed a “well mannered” technique to talk: “I wish to inform you sir…”
Expectation?
The screenshots, posted on Reddit’s common ‘Indian Office’ group, rapidly led customers to conclude that the supervisor’s main problem was the shortage of the honorific “sir.”
A consumer wrote, “Once I joined the workforce 10 years in the past, my supervisor used to get offended if I referred to as him sir and made it very clear to me that at work it’s best to tackle everybody by identify. Since when has this modified?”
One other consumer wrote, “Nonetheless the identical in most firms. These idiots wish to really feel highly effective. They lack it in any other case and want to be been revered and need their ass licked as a result of they wish to really feel energy. Typical Indian mentality of, “Respect your elders. The supervisor is a pink flag. And this is identical previous toxicity in India. So freaking happy with your good friend who stood his/her floor slightly than saying sorry sir, I’ll kiss your ass tomorrow.”
“Its not, nobody calls anybody sir in my entire organisation even when its VP. Some organisations actually need to drive proper tradition,” the third shared.
