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As the shocking death of an employee at audit firm EY India throws light on exploitative work practices, data shows that workers are not voicing enough complaints on internal platforms of companies. India Inc. clearly needs to create safe spaces for staffers to air grievances, if toxicity at work has to be checked.
businessline’s analysis of annual reports of the Nifty50 companies shows that complaints filed by employees on internal platforms as a percentage of total headcount ranges between just 0.01 and 7.4 per cent in FY24.
Axis Bank, which says it has added administrative queries to its complaints reporting, alone has this metric at 131 per cent. Maruti Suzuki (7.4 per cent), Ultratech Cement (4.8), State Bank of India (4.8), Dr Reddy’s Lab (1.1), and L&T (0.9) are others with the highest complaints as a percentage of total employees.
Top companies
In terms of the absolute count of complaints, IT majors TCS (1,171) and Wipro (808) also figure in the top 10. The number of complaints as a percentage of total headcount from FY23 is flat in a majority of the cases, except in case of Maruti Suzuki where it zoomed to 7.4 per cent in FY24, from just 0.1 per cent in FY23.
Reliance, Adani Enterprises, and Apollo Hospitals are among the 12 Nifty50 companies that have reported NIL complaints across FY24 and FY23.
These disclosures are part of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework. The nature of employee complaints includes violation of human rights, any behavioural issues, improper business practices or any overall breach of its code of conduct, but exclude those relating to sexual harassment, which are separately reported under POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Law.
Helpline utilisation rates
Ariz Rizvi, Senior Vice-President & Head of Health Risk Management in India, Aon, says utilisation rates of employee helplines at large companies are generally low due to lack of awareness and this will improve when organisations are being seen taking action on the complaints. “There is a need for a POSH-like reporting mechanism for companies to better manage workplace stress,” he added.
Government data indicate that there has been a rise in suicides among salaried professionals, with private sector employees being the most vulnerable. There were 16,364 suicides among professionals in 2022, with 70.2 per cent of these in the private sector, and the rest from public sector undertakings or government servants, National Crime Records Bureau data show.
Aditya Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR Services, notes that complaints as reported in annual filings are either those that cannot be discussed in person or made if employees lose confidence in other modes.
Dr Saras Bhaskar, Co-founder, Chennai Counselling Foundation, says that increased pressure to meet expectations, receiving poor performance reviews, being bullied in front of colleagues, or financial stress are a few key reasons for workplace stress. As for low reporting of complaints, she adds: “This is a common issue, as seen in sexual harassment cases, where fear of losing one’s job, financial insecurity, and concerns about not receiving justice lead to feelings of powerlessness.”
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