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Corporate Lessons Or Privilege? CA’s Viral LinkedIn Post On Maid’s ₹1,000 Raise Sparks Outrage

How a Delhi CA’s LinkedIn post about her maid’s resignation over a ₹1,000 hike ignited a national conversation on fairness and privilege.

A recent LinkedIn post by Delhi-based chartered accountant Meenal Goel caused outrage on social media. Goel shared a post about how her maid had resigned from service after being refused a salary hike of ₹1,000. While Goel used the incident to draw three “corporate lessons,” her post has been met with polarizing reactions, with many accusing her of exploiting her domestic help.

The Incident

In her LinkedIn post, Goel recounted that her maid had asked for a monthly salary increase to ₹3,000. When Goel and her family refused the raise, the maid resigned, delivering a parting comment: “Call only when you are ready to pay me ₹3,000.” Goel noted that this response was unexpected and shared the experience on LinkedIn to highlight three corporate lessons she learned from the situation:

  1. Don’t be afraid to ask for a raise: She respects her maid because of the maid’s confidence in standing up for what she thinks she deserves.
  2. Never discredit your efforts: She said, “The maid would do her work valuing it sufficiently to demand reasonable pay.”
  3. Please don’t settle for less: The maid refused to compromise her pay and decided to leave, which left a powerful impression on Goel.

While Goel framed these as valuable takeaways for professional and personal growth, her post has drawn widespread criticism.

Corporate Rat race
Others seized the moment to discuss an altogether different and more serious issue: exploitation within the unorganized sector.

Social Media Backlash

On LinkedIn and other sites like X (previously Twitter), where a screenshot of Goel’s post was shared with the following description, the post swiftly gained popularity: “Only on LinkedIn can you be like ‘Exploiting and firing my maid taught me three corporate lessons. And I can teach them to you for a price (>>3000).’”

Critics labelled Goel’s actions and posts as tone-deaf and exploitative. Many pointed out that denying a ₹1,000 raise to a domestic worker in a city like Delhi, where the cost of living is high, was unreasonable. One commenter on LinkedIn wrote, “Only on LinkedIn dot com will you find such entitled people giving corporate lessons after exploiting their househelp to the extent of making them resign.”

Others seized the moment to discuss an altogether different and more serious issue: exploitation within the unorganized sector. Workers there are often not entitled to the most basic legal rights, let alone fixed hours or fair wages. “This post reflects how privilege blinds people to the struggles of those who enable their comfortable lives,” wrote one.

Divided Opinions

Although this reaction attracted criticism from several users, many supported Goel. They lauded her ability to seek a lesson from what could be described as an awkward experience. “Meenal, your insights are very inspiring—a powerful lesson to stand up for ourselves and not undervalue our value in the workplace. One commenter said, “Thank you for sharing.

CA businesswoman's domestic maid resigns. And teaches her a lesson on how  employees should ask salary hikes - The Economic Times

This polarized response can be seen to reflect the complex interplay of class dynamics, labour rights, and corporate culture. While some appreciated Goel’s perspective, others viewed her post as glaringly privileged and insensitive.

Broader Context

This occurs when labour rights and working ethics are in public debate. Indeed, in recent history, the public has reviled many corporate leaders for claiming people have to “work harder” to be successful and, in that sense, requested more hours to be put to work. The call has drawn some criticism as exploitative, especially considering the plight of workers in the unorganized sector who lack even basic protections.

Most of India’s unorganized workforce are domestic workers who face challenging conditions. As the ILO reported in 2019, India has more than 4 million domestic workers, primarily women. Low wages and long working hours characterize their employment without social security benefits. The case with the maid and Goel requires more sensitization and agitation for the appropriate treatment of such workers.

Lessons Beyond LinkedIn

While Goel’s post was designed to inspire corporate professionals, it has incidentally drawn attention to the divide between organized and unorganized labour. A few more lessons are drawn here.

  1. Fair Wages Are Essential: This demand by the maid to receive ₹1,000 raises an issue with compensating the worker at the correct amount for whatever business one belongs to. Wages need to keep up with cost-of-living rates in metros for domestic workers.
  2. Recognizing Privilege: The power equation between employers and domestic workers is also a concern. ₹1,000 to some might be peanuts, but it can be the difference between two meals and three for a worker.
  3. Advocating for Labor Rights: Such incident calls for stronger legal protection for domestic workers. A policy that ensures fair wages, reasonable working hours, and social security benefits would lessen the gap between organized and unorganized labour.
  4. Empathy in Professional Lessons: Drawing lessons from real-life experiences is valuable, but context matters. Sharing such stories requires sensitivity to the implications and the people involved.
Employers urged to prioritise fair pay
The case with the maid and Goel requires more sensitization and agitation for the appropriate treatment of such workers.

Moving Forward

It depicts how complicated labour dynamics in India are. It may be because Goel, a LinkedIn writer, sought to share his learning experience; this backlash has given him a much-needed spark to address privilege, fairness, and how a country handles its workers.

Organizations and legislators must handle employees fairly as a part of Indian organized and unorganized sectors; they have duties toward balancing interest pertaining to their workers. These teachings outside the business world can be applied to all. They call for a fight for the eradication of systemic evils and for the construction of a fair and gracious society.

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