Jamshedpur career coach’s viral post sparks discussion: ‘Stop glorifying overwork’

A Jamshedpur-based career coach triggered a discussion online about toxic workplaces when he posted a social media post detailing an incident in which he was asked to flag an employee as an “attrition risk” simply for leaving work at a reasonable hour.
For those unfamiliar, attrition risk is the probability that employees will leave the organisation.
Sumit Agrawal, a career coach who has previously held top management posts at several prestigious companies, recalled the incident in a post on LinkedIn in which he explained how his manager became concerned when one of the employees started clocking out by 6:30pm and wasn’t responsive after working hours.
“When an employee started leaving work at 6.30pm, my manager asked me to flag him as an attrition risk. I thought this surely must be some crazy predictive analysis stuff, so I asked him about it,” he said.
“‘Well, he seems to be disengaged. Earlier, he used to leave late, but since the last few weeks he hasn’t been responsive after work hours.’ Aggarwal’s manager told him,” he added.
“I was confused as I didn’t even understand why that was a red flag. His performance was as good as always. If at all, he was more active at work,” Aggarwal said further.
Agrawal, rather than following his manager’s advice, took a different approach. He reached out directly to the employee and aimed to understand any underlying issues rather than reprimanding them for setting boundaries.
“Still, as instructed by my manager, I ‘engaged’ with the employee to understand his concerns. He [the employee] told me that his health was being affected as he wasn’t able to exercise due to working till late,” he said.
“So he comes to work early and leaves by 6.30pm as he has joined a gym nearby and is just trying to manage his schedule,” Agrawal added.
Agrawal’s questions did make the employee worried.
“Is that a concern? Will my rating be affected?’, he asked me worriedly. I gave him the confidence that nothing like that is going to happen, and he should focus on his health,” he added.
What Agrawal said next was something that has won hearts online. He emphasised why such a thing should be discussed in the first place. The employee was performing well and didn’t seem to have an issue with the work. How does it concern the manager if employees aren’t active after their work hours?
“Why did this have to be a conversation in the first place? Why was leaving work on time considered an aberration instead of normal,” Agrawal asked in his post, adding, “Many managers don’t realise that people have a life outside of work as well. The unrealistic expectation of being always available has sadly been ingrained in work cultures.”
He concluded his post with this note: “It’s high time we stop being apologetic for not being available after work hours and stop glorifying overwork.”
Take a look at the post here:
Agrawal’s post, which highlighted the clash between work expectations and personal boundaries, quickly went viral as it resonated with several users who felt pressured to stay online past regular hours.
See the comments here:
As the conversation continues online, Sumit Agrawal’s post has underscored the need for management to adapt to healthier work expectations and recognise the value of employees’ work-life balance.