Bengaluru techie’s WFH request rejected despite mother’s accident; internet reacts

A Bengaluru-based tech professional’s emotional plea for a month of remote work has ignited a storm online, highlighting the widening gap between corporate policies and basic empathy.

According to a viral Reddit post, the employee requested work-from-home after her mother and brother met with a scooter accident. While both survived without life-threatening injuries, her mother suffered fractures that left her temporarily immobile and dependent on care.

To support her request, the woman submitted MRI scans, medical reports, and a police document, yet her employer rejected the appeal, citing ‘low bandwidth’ in the team.

Insensitive Policies Add to Employee Distress

The situation worsened when the woman’s brother, also injured in the crash, was reportedly granted only two days of leave before being asked to return to work. Many online have described the response as ‘cold’ and ‘heartless’, questioning why flexibility is still denied in genuine emergencies, especially when remote work is feasible.

Netizens Slam Corporate India’s Lack of Empathy

Social media platforms erupted with anger and disbelief.

“Trash company; my office mandates in-person work, but exceptions are made in emergencies,” one user commented.
Likewise, another user wrote, “Corporate culture has killed compassion. We’ve forgotten that employees are humans, not machines.”

The outrage has reignited the debate around return-to-office mandates and whether India’s corporate sector is losing sight of the human side of work.

A Call for Policy Reforms

As conversations grow louder, many are urging companies to rethink their remote work and emergency leave policies. This incident, they say, should serve as a wake-up call that productivity should never come at the cost of empathy.