Ola employee dies suicide due to ‘work pressure’, company says he was on ‘personal leave’ | Trending

Ola has acknowledged that an employee of the company died suicide after the claim first emerged on a Reddit post two days ago.  Ola issues statement on employee’s death suicide.(Reuters) A colleague of the employee claimed on Reddit that he died suicide due to “extreme work pressure.” In the widely-circulated post, the Reddit user claimed his co-worker at Ola was made to handle the work of three people despite being a fresher. An employee of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola’s AI division, Krutrim, he was unable to cope with the pressure and died suicide. Ola’s statementOla acknowledged the incident in a statement to HT.com and said the employee was on personal leave. “We are deeply saddened the tragic passing of one of our most talented young employees, *Anil, on the 8th of May. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” a spokesperson for Ola Krutrim told HT.com. “*Anil was on personal leave at the time of the incident. He had reached out to his manager on the 8th of April, expressing that he needed rest, and was promptly granted personal time off. Later, on the 17th of April, he shared that he was feeling better but would benefit from additional rest, and his leave was extended accordingly. “As a company, we are heartbroken this loss. *Anil was a valued team member, and his absence will be deeply felt all who knew and worked with him. “We are extending our full support to *Anil’s family and our employees during this time of grief. We are also in contact with the relevant authorities and will continue to offer our assance as needed,” the spokesperson said. *HT.com has changed the name of the employee for privacy reasons.Claims of extreme work pressure“Not sure why it’s not a public issue yet, a colleague of mine just gave up on his life due to extreme work pressure. He used to work in Krutrim, and with 2 other guys leading a project (even after being a freshie). The other two guys left the company, so he was cramped up with work of the other two as well [sic],” the Reddit user wrote. He went on to name a manager at Krutrim as responsible for creating a toxic work environment. The manager, based in the United States, has taken down his LinkedIn profile since the Reddit post emerged two days ago. “Just traumatic”“He [the manager] has no real clue how to manage people. He just attends the calls, bashes people left, right and center and disappears since he lives in US and most workforce is here in Bangalore,” the Ola employee claimed in his Reddit post. He added that foul language is used in meetings as the manager vents his frustration on juniors. “The words used in meetings, especially against freshers, it’s just traumatic,” the Reddit user claimed, adding: “Having not delivered a single product even after a year of joining Krutrim, he is just taking it all out on people.” The aftermathThe post has led to massive backlash against Ola on social media, but the Reddit user claims that things for employees have not improved. “Even after this shocking incident, there has been no behavioural change in people there. I heard other team members saying if they stay anymore here, they are going to end up doing the same,” he posted on Reddit. In the comments section, the Ola employee further claimed that the manager in question emailed HR to fire his whole team after the incident.