At-home beauty services startup YesMadam has at the center of a social media maelstrom after the screenshot of a mail by the company claimed that they mass-fired employees due to stress.
This began with a viral email and social media post from one of the supposedly terminated employees, which provoked a widespread backlash across internet plaforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter).
The employee claimed that over 100 workers were abruptly fired after participating in a company survey assessing their stress levels.
“Recently, we conducted a survey to understand your feelings about stress at work. Many of you shared your concerns, which we deeply value and respect. As a company committed to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment, we have carefully considered the feedback,” says the screenshot of the alleged HR mail.
“To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress. This decision is effective immediately, and impacted employees will receive further details separately,” it added.
The employee, named Anushka Dutta, highly criticized the decision, writing on LinkedIn, “What’s happening at YesMadam? First you conduct a random survey and then fire us overnight because we’re feeling stressed? And not just me 100 other people have been fired too.”
View the Mail Screenshot Below:
YesMadam Responds
The company soon broke the ice soon after, releasing a statement on LinkedIn to clarify that nobody had actually been fired.
“No one was fired at YesMadam! Let us be clear: We would never take such an inhuman step,” the post read. The company said that the social media posts were a planned campaign to highlight the “serious issue of workplace stress.”
They clarified that the employees were not fired but were instead given a break to reset and encouraged to release their stress, rest and recharge.
Additionally, the company announced its new corporate program “Happy 2 Heal”, which would give employees six days of de-stress paid leaves annually along with a complimentary YesMadam spa session at home.
View the LinkedIn Clarification here:
How did the internet react?
But YesMadam’s latest update and apology after the viral email seems to have only made matters worse. Many social media users labelled this initiative as a “tone-deaf campaign”, identifying it as a PR stunt to gain attention.
“Whoever approved this stupid PR stunt should probably fire themselves,” a user wrote.
“Using a grave issue like layoffs—a reality affecting millions—to promote a product is as irresponsible as it is tasteless,” said one user.
“So now toxic behavior is rebranded as a PR stunt? Bold strategy-destroy trust, gaslight your employees, and call it marketing,” said another user.
“Even if your intentions might be pure, this is sick. That email in itself is the first step in increasing the stress. First we are making Cervical cancer and death a PR stunt and now anxiety,” another wrote.
