Burnout, humiliation, and no boundaries: Viral post lists 3 toxic workplace habits that have been normalised for too long

Vijay Chandola, a career coach and IIM alumnus, has highlighted three workplace habits that are often normalized in Indian offices but shouldn’t be. His viral Instagram post resonated widely, as he addressed employees directly with a blunt message: "They are the problem, not you."

Glorifying Burnout Culture

The first issue he pointed out was the tendency to celebrate overwork. He described it as "bragging about staying up till 4am, 5 am to deliver something critical and wearing that burnout of honor."

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A post shared by Vijay Chandola (@thinksage.in)

Toxic Behavior in the Workplace

Chandola also criticized aggressive and disrespectful behavior at work. He noted instances of "screaming at people, belittling them in front of others, making constant comparison and expecting to somehow improve their performance by doing that."

No Respect for Personal Boundaries

The third concern he raised was the lack of boundaries in professional environments. He pointed out how employees are often disturbed even during personal time, including "Calling people incessantly when they are on leave, sick in hospital, grieving or dealing with a personal emergency, no regard for personal boundaries as if the company owns them.”

He concluded his message strongly, saying, "None of this is okay, none of this should be okay."

In the caption of his Instagram post, he added, "Some workplace behaviors have been normalized for so long that many people don’t even question them anymore."

Encouraging change, he wrote, "We can do better, and we should expect better.

Social media reactions

One user commented “Yep. I basically gave it back and got fired for it. “

“I daily witness this things and it is normalised now”, commented another.

Disclaimer: This article is based on a user-generated post on Instagram. ET.com has not independently verified the claims made in the post and does not vouch for their accuracy. The views expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET.com. Reader discretion is advised.