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Mumbai mental health NGO head rejects woman's request to skip Sunday duty due to period pain
Many suggested the woman leave her job and labelled her workplace as “toxic”. The woman later informed that she had started her notice period.
A woman, in a Reddit post, alleged workplace insensitivity, claiming that the director of a mental health NGO in Mumbai brutally rejected her request to skip a Sunday workshop due to “unbearable” period pain.
“We have online workshops every Sunday (smh) with another NGO, despite only having Monday to Friday 8-4pm working days. This time, we held a training program for staff at a college which lasted for two days, fri and sat 9am to 4.30pm. I had no choice but to attend, despite dying from the pain because of my period but I still finished my responsibilities,” the woman wrote.
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She added, “I requested for someone in our team to take the Sunday 1-hr weekly workshop and this is what the director told me. No ‘take care’ or ‘it’s fine’. No feedback on our work yesterday and the day before. This is an NGO in Mumbai which works for suicide prevention and mental health. This is our reality.”
The woman further shared a screenshot which purportedly shows her conversation with the NGO director. “Can someone please take my… workshop tomorrow? I have been in pain since yesterday so I really need to rest. Thank you.”
To which the reply came, “Pls don’t cancel workshops every week. It reflects very bad on us.”
Explaining about the “cancelled workshops” remark, the woman shared, “No workshop was cancelled. 2 were postponed due to issues from the other end, and once the team had gone to Pune for a conference and were unavailable.”
What did social media say?
The post prompted a wave of reactions on social media. Many called the situation “ironic”, adding how an employee of a mental health NGO is struggling.
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An individual commented, “I remember working for a mental health startup and boy, it has the worst, terrible work-life balance. I was making a module for grounding exercises with positive affirmations during my panic attacks. It was hilarious if I think about it. Tell them you can't do it. What's the worst that could happen if you don't?” The OP responded, “Would you mind naming the startup? Sounds familiar. Also, yes, someone else is taking the workshop now. And I'm on notice period.”
Another added, “Development sector work is toxic. Very few NGOs in India have a good work-life balance.” A third expressed, “Most NGOs are sham. A way to get free funds from the government and foreign entities.” A fourth wrote, “Run girl, run.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
