‘Jaha pe ladayi ho rahi hai na, best office hai’: Harsh Goenka calls out Ashneer Grover for praising toxic work culture

Businessman Harsh Goenka has called out BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover while sharing an old video where the latter is seen advocating a toxic work environment. Goenka shared the video on X and said that he is perplexed to see somebody supporting a toxic work culture.

"It’s baffling to see anyone advocate for a toxic environment. #AnnaPerayil

Your views?" Goenka wrote on X.

In the video shared by Goenka, BharatPe co-founder and former MD describes his visit to the Ernst&Young (EY) office. After roaming around the office for a while, Grover acted to have chest pain after seeing the condition of the employees there. According to Grover, the people in the office seemed dead.

“Bhai sahab, itne mare huye log, matlab kriya karam karna reh gaya tha, sab laashe pade the (people are so dead there, only funeral is left to be done, all dead bodies were lying there),” Grover said.

He supported a toxic work culture and said that in such places only the work is done. It is one of the best offices, he opined.

“Jaha pe ladayi ho rahi hai na, best office hai. Matlab jaha pe koi bol raha ho bada toxic culture hai, bahut sahi office hai woh matlab (best office is the one where there are fights, where people are saying that the work culture is toxic),” he added.

Grover believes that one can find many non-toxic office spaces, but work will be done only in toxic work spaces.

“Bhai kaam to wahi ho raha hai. Baaki non toxic to bahut mil jayenge (work is only being done there (toxic workspaces), you can find many non-toxic office spaces),” he added.

Toxic work culture issue

The debate on toxic work culture and long working hours arose after the death of a 26-year-old Chartered Accountant, Anna Sebastian Perayil, who was working at EY. It is alleged that she died due to immense work pressure and long working hours, which took a toll on her physical and mental health.

In a separate post on X, Goenka urged the central government to take urgent action on the issue and help promote a healthier workplace culture.