Indian Worker Viral Post: What started as a regular work meeting ended in disappointment for a 32-year-old Indian employee working in the United States. In a Reddit post that is now getting attention online, he shared how a teammate told him to stop talking during meetings, just because of his accent. Originally from India, the man is currently working in the US as a contractor with an American team. While asking a senior colleague for a basic project update, he was met with a shocking response. “He told me to stop speaking in meetings because he couldn't understand my accent,” the man wrote.

The employee said his request was nothing unusual, just a simple ask for some progress updates and related pictures. Still, he felt completely disrespected and hurt by the reply. “I felt dismissed and insulted,” he shared. He explained that he always tries his best to speak clearly and professionally. “No one else has said anything like this before. I’ve been with the same client for over a year now,” he added.

After the incident, the employee’s manager asked him to avoid directly speaking with that team member in the future. "I have been in meetings with Russians, Vietnamese etc., where I could not understand a single word they said and had to ask for clarification again and again. We eventually had to open a shared Google Doc and write our Q&A in it. I have Indians on my team whose spoken English is atrocious, and I had to request them to talk in their native language. So, when an American says he cannot understand what I said, I would assume he is having the same problem with me that I had with the Russian and other Indian speakers.

Send a mail to the concerned person and ask, since spoken communication is not working due to his inability to understand your accent, what form of communication would he recommend for getting his status update," he added.

ALSO READ: Indian Mom Feeds American Vlogger With Her Hands Like Her Own Son; Viral Video Captures His Reaction

Watch The Viral Post:

Stakeholder told me to stop talking in meetings because of my accent-is this normal?
byu/OkSpecial9640 inIndianWorkplace

People across the platform jumped into the conversation, sharing their own stories and opinions. While many stood by the man, a few also suggested that some accents can be genuinely hard to follow. "Set up a meeting, and record yourself speaking. Then play it back and listen to yourself. This can be a good litmus test of how others "hear" you. If you know any other non-Indian with whom you feel comfortable, you can include them in that call, so that you can hear their conversation as well in the same medium," a user wrote. "You should join a spoken English class, and aim to neutralise your accent by reducing Mother Tongue Influence," a second user suggested.

ALSO READ: Man Loses His Job But Pretends Everything Is Fine On LinkedIn And Ends Up Getting An Even Better One

"That’s so rude and constitutes workplace bullying, I think. I would speak to my manager and file an HR complaint. I am in so many meetings where I cannot understand a word of what some of my colleagues are saying. I will ask them to repeat themselves or write it down in the meeting chat. Would never ever imagine that telling someone not to speak anymore would be acceptable- whether professionally or personally," added a third user. "Man same thing happened with me. Not because of English but because of my accent in Hindi. Fuck these morons managers," added a fourth user.