SEBI Employees Decry 'Toxic' Work Culture: Public Humiliation, Stress, And A Lot More

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) employees have raised serious concerns about a "toxic work environment" under the leadership of chief Madhabi Puri Buch.

In a letter addressed to the finance ministry titled "Grievances of SEBI officers - A call for Respect," employees highlighted unprofessional behavior from the top management and outlined five key grievances.

Unrealistic KRA Targets

SEBI employees claimed that the introduction of unrealistic Key Result Area (KRA) targets was placing an undue burden on staff. They stated that despite their hard work in meeting previous targets, the goals for the current year had been significantly increased, ranging from 20% to 50% in some departments.

"Employees are not robots with a knob that one can turn and increase the output," the letter remarked, emphasizing the toll these excessive demands were taking. The officials also pointed out that SEBI is not a sales organisation where surpassing KRAs is the only measure of success, reported Hindustan Times.

"The work done at SEBI impacts the lives of so many people in this country. Working frantically to only achieve unrealistic targets to protect oneself from the ire of people at the highest level is a disservice to SEBI and the people of this country," they asserted.

Immense Work Pressure

The heightened KRA targets have led to overwhelming work pressure. The letter detailed how stressed-out employees were working overtime, often on weekends, to keep up with the increased demands.

"This kind of work environment in recent times has resulted in immense pressure on the employees of SEBI and has resulted in a stressful and toxic work environment," the employees said, noting that SEBI had once been a place where people worked "joyously and efficiently."

Many employees have reportedly been taking files home to continue working after office hours. The letter further highlighted the "stress and anxiety" that employees were experiencing due to this work overload.

In some departments, employees claimed that senior and middle management did not contribute any "value addition," but instead caused more "panic addition."

Public Humiliation

SEBI employees also accused the top management of fostering a culture of public humiliation and unprofessional behavior. Shouting, name-calling, and scolding had reportedly become commonplace, to the point where even senior officers were afraid to attend meetings due to the "bad behavior" of leadership.

"At one time, the employees will be name-called and at other times they would be shouted at by the leadership with no defense from top management," the letter stated.

Employees emphasised that fear had become the primary motivator within SEBI, and that "unprofessional language is casually used by people at the highest level."

Officers described the management style as one where "employees are browbeaten into submission."

Swing Barriers for Attendance Monitoring

Another grievance was the installation of swing barriers to monitor employee attendance throughout the day. SEBI employees criticized this move as reflective of a lack of trust from the leadership.

The letter pointed out that many private companies are moving away from even biometric systems to promote a more positive work environment.

"One of the ways mistrust towards employees has surfaced is the installation of swing barriers to monitor intra-day attendance of employees," the letter read. Employees argued that SEBI, as an intellectual organisation, thrives on the self-motivation of its workforce, and that monitoring attendance so closely was both an insult and outdated.

Mental Health Impact

The letter concluded by addressing the impact of the toxic work culture on the mental health of SEBI employees. The heightened work pressure, public humiliation, and excessive monitoring had taken a significant toll.

"Mental health counsellors, who earlier had only a few bookings, have now been inundated with appointments," the letter said.

As a result, HR had to increase the frequency of mental health counselling sessions and offer unlimited appointments to help employees cope with the stress.