A Pune man recently said goodbye to his allegedly toxic workplace, and it was no ordinary farewell. Aniket, a sales associate, summoned musicians to his office and danced to the beats of dhol while his boss looked on. This not-so-usual departure from the company was posted online by popular content creator Anish Bhagat.
“I think a lot of you are going to relate to this. Toxic work culture is so prominent these days. Lack of respect and entitlement is quite common,” the creator claimed.
Mr Bhagat claimed that Aniket left his job of three years due to a «very toxic» work environment. In a video shared on Instagram, Aniket said that his raise was in “peanuts” and there was no respect from his boss. He said he felt stuck because he was “from a middle-class family.”
To make Aniket’s exit memorable, Mr Bhagat, along with Aniket’s friends, organised a surprise party outside his office on his last day. They brought in dhols and waited for his manager to come out. As soon as he did, Aniket shook his hand, and said, “Sorry sir, bye-bye”. Next, he was dancing to the beats of the dhol. His manager, visibly annoyed, tried to stop the filming.
Mr Bhagat narrated that the manager “got super pissed” and “started pushing people,” adding, “Now I know why (Aniket) quit.”
Later, the group visited a temple, and in the evening, Mr Bhagat and Aniket’s friends threw him a surprise party, presenting him with a cake and posters that read, «aatma nirbhar bharat» (self-reliant India). Mr Bhagat revealed that Aniket would now pursue his passion of becoming a fitness trainer and gifted him some gym shoes. “Aniket is ready to begin with his next step. I hope this story inspires people. If you’re looking for a trainer, you can reach out to @aniketrandhir_1718,” Mr Bhagat wrote.
In a 2023 report by Harappa Insights, toxic bosses and toxic workplace environments were cited as major factors in employees quitting their jobs. The report found that 58 per cent of employees quit their jobs because of toxic bosses, while 54 per cent left due to toxic workplace environments.