Employee asks Delhi CEO for ‘late-night party leave’. Check his response

The screenshot of the interaction, (right) founder and CEO of Unstop Ankit Aggarwal (Image credit: right ( Instagram/MCGuddu) and LinkedIn)

A CEO from Delhi has won hearts on social media and sparked a discussion on leave policies after his reaction to an employee asking for a "late-night party leave" went viral. Ankit Aggarwal, the founder and CEO of  Unstop, shared a screenshot of his interaction with the employee without revealing his identity.

"This landed in my WhatsApp today morning. An employee asking for a leave because the party and its after party are still on. This openness is critical within a team so that you can trust your team and they are ensured that you will back them," he wrote on LinkedIn. "When colleagues feel comfortable being open and honest with each other, it builds a foundation of trust that can lead to better communication, collaboration, and overall success."

The CEO's response was lauded by many social media users.

"This is what I needed to read today. In my past work experience, there were instances where my team and I were honest and gave our manager the true reasons why we needed leave - it could be a weekend getaway, to attend weddings, or just "we're mentally exhausted, we need a day off to do nothing," wrote LinkedIn user Samina Hathiyari. "We weren't permitted to take a day off until someone from our family was either hospitalized or dead! I must say, all of us lost a lot of our relatives for us to get leaves."

"What a delightful and candid moment!" commented another user Angie Liu. "The level of openness and honesty within a team, as demonstrated by the employee asking for leave due to a party and its after-party, is indeed precious. Trust is the bedrock of a successful team, and this kind of camaraderie fosters a positive work environment. When colleagues feel comfortable being themselves, it not only leads to better communication and collaboration but also creates a sense of unity and support."

But, several others were not impressed with how Aggarwal handled the situation or why he chose to disclose the interaction on a public platform.

"Is this acceptable when your team depends on you?" asked LinkedIn user Jack Gershfeld. "Does your employee understand the impact s/he has on the team members? Surprise is a very challenging emotion. Creating relationship stress by surprising everyone is not a good trust move. I do not think if you are a first responder, that message would go over well."

Agreeing with him, another user Paul Johnson added, "While I understand employees may occasionally need an urgent last-minute vacation I don’t think this would be a valid reason. The problem here is the employee was not asking, but merely sent an instruction to their employer. This is not a respectful way of working as the employer was not left with a choice as to approve or not."

Responding to some of the criticism, Aggarwal clarified that the intention of sharing the conversation was to share how the work culture at his company is and that honesty is rewarded. "The idea is not to show my response but how open conversation is at Unstop so that you don’t have to lie to take a leave," he said.