Gen Z employee’s text leaves colleague ‘speechless’: ‘What a move’

A lawyer has sparked a huge online debate after sharing a work chat message from a junior colleague which she claims left her “speechless”.

Ayushi Doshi works as a lawyer at a firm in Mumbai, India, and recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a message she received from her new colleague informing her and another senior employee that he would he came to work late the next day. .

“Hello sir and madam. I will come (as) tomorrow at 11:30, because I am currently leaving the office at 20:30,” the note read.

In sharing the screenshot, Ms. Doshi said she couldn’t “believe my little one sent me this.”

“Today’s children are something else. He stayed late, so now he will show up late to the office to be ‘picked up’. What a move! I am speechless”, she wrote.

The post quickly went viral and has now been viewed more than 7.3 million times, with many social media users quick to share their thoughts on the situation.

Unfortunately for Ms. Doshi, the post did not receive the support she expected, with only a few commenters agreeing with her stance, while the rest criticized her for her reaction to the situation.

Most commentators were quick to defend the new worker, claiming he was simply setting boundaries and ensuring he maintained a healthy work-life balance.

“Our profession has made this toxic exploitation the norm and widely accepted. However, there is nothing wrong with what your youngster expects. You pay him for the hours he puts in, not the draft. If his hours don’t qualify as good enough, then you hired the wrong junior,” one person wrote.

One commenter questioned why he let him work so late in the first place, while another praised the young man for his advocacy.

“The courage not to sleep in the office,” said another sarcastically.

One added: “It’s 2024, don’t be a boomer. People have personal lives unlike you. After working hours no one should stay, simply.”

After seeing all the reactions, Ms. Doshi sought to further clarify the situation, revealing that the employee had been given a deadline to complete a task that would normally take at least a full day of work.

She claimed his working hours were 10am to 7pm, but he was unable to complete it in that time frame, claiming he wasted “valuable time being on his phone instead of to stay focused on work”.

“When there’s a deadline to meet, sometimes it takes a little extra time to get everything done,” she said.

In another follow-up post, Mrs. Doshi accused commenters of “venting their frustrations” on her post when most people posting wouldn’t have the guts to “bring this out in a formal setting.”

“When you are assigned tasks at work, you are expected to complete them, no matter what. You’re not going to preach self-care in that situation,” she said.

“So to those commenting, please provide a more practical perspective where you would have handled things the same way. And please don’t give advice here.”

“The person only worked extra today, of all days. To work just one day overtime, they’re asking for compensation for that time.”

However, the additional clarification did little to change people’s opinions, with many pointing out that she could have raised any concerns with the employee in person, rather than posting it online for all to see and “humiliating” him.

Other commentators were quick to point out that the worker has a right to be compensated for his time.

Asking for compensation is a good and healthy practice. You can’t expect people to work overtime without extra pay or some compensatory time off. They are human beings, not slaves,” one person said.

However, Ms. Doshi refused to back down, with the continued backlash only serving to make her double down on her stance.

She claimed the amount of people “hating” on her over the post was “ridiculous”.

She added that the worker in question was “clearly not serious” about his job, repeating the claim that he wastes time on their phone.

mrs. Doshi also claimed that he comes to work late “all the time” and often leaves work unfinished to complete the next day.

“Even then it doesn’t happen. If you agree with the text, please understand the full story before you attack me and call me an evil old man,” she said.

“I’m not making them stay up late and burn out their mental or physical health.”

She claimed it was “unreasonable” for the young worker to seek compensation in this situation, saying it was “not how the corporation or any business works”.

“Let’s focus on practical solutions before labeling anyone as toxic. By the way, this person is not reporting to me; I just shared a screenshot that was sent to me in our official group,” she said.

mrs. Dosh’s final explanation did little to win over commenters, with many calling her “totally unprofessional” and claiming her subsequent posts didn’t justify her decision to share the message in the first place.