- By Shailvee Tiwari
- Thu, 19 Jun 2025 01:02 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Reddit Viral Post: Not all jobs break you with workload, some do it with words. That’s what happened to a young Bengaluru man who shared his painful work experience on Reddit, and now his story is making waves online. He had joined a small events discovery startup as a junior data scientist in early 2024. Excited about the opportunity, he was hopeful about learning and growing. But soon, the excitement turned into stress, fear, and anxiety. The reason? The company’s CEO. The employee claimed that the CEO had no tech background but still micromanaged everything. He would often set unrealistic deadlines, change project goals without warning, and explode with anger when things didn’t go his way.
“This chap demanded I explain every minute detail of my work directly to him. If my explanation wasn't flawless, or if he couldn't understand something technical, he would completely explode,” the employee wrote. What hurt him more was the personal targeting. “I'm talking about full-scale screaming sessions where he'd destroy me both professionally and personally,” he added. He believed his quiet nature and thin build made him an easy target. Despite having a reporting manager, the CEO would deal directly with him, adding to the pressure.
Even after working 12–14 hours daily, including weekends, for seven straight months, with just two sick days, the employee said he was never appreciated. “It was always criticism, always fault-finding, always something I was supposedly doing incorrectly.” Finally, he decided to quit. But just a week after resigning, the worst happened. During a Google Meet call, the CEO started shouting at him again. The stress pushed him over the edge. “I tried desperately to address his points professionally, but he just kept escalating. Yelling louder and louder. The verbal attack was so brutal that I literally couldn't breathe properly. My chest started tightening, I began struggling for air, and I completely collapsed in my chair.”
Watch The Viral Video:
I had a complete breakdown during a work video call because my CEO kept screaming - still dealing with the trauma
byu/energized_maverick inIndianWorkplace
His mother, hearing the chaos, rushed in and took him to the hospital immediately. The post ended with a heartfelt message for others who may be in similar situations: “To anyone currently trapped in a similar nightmare: your mental health is infinitely more important than any salary. Trust your instincts. If someone consistently makes you feel worthless, the issue is with them, not you.” This powerful story is now spreading across the internet, not just as a warning, but as a reminder that no job is worth your mental health.
The post, after being shared, received many reactions from Reddit users. One user wrote, "Please please please OP once you have received all your documents and payment name and shame the shit out of this company on LinkedIn! Nobody deserves this kind of treatment, and you’d be saving other young professionals a lot of trouble." "This is literally the most horrible thing I've read recently. Such "CEOs" deserve to be sued. I have no idea how you managed to put up with this for 7 whole months. More power to you for your healing journey. Hoping you never have to experience such work environments again," a second user added.
"Sorry there. But really, you have to leave. And definitely, babe and shame. A reporter here might catch it and publish. In the past, many articles have been sourced that way and been published on Morning Context, Ken, etc," added a third user. "That sounds horrible and more power to you for standing up for your health. You should name the company and the CEO. This needs to be highlighted much more than a pen down of your horrible experience. You might help someone else avoid what unfortunately happened to you," added another user.