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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country's financial market regulator, has vehemently denied allegations of a toxic work culture, attributing the complaints to junior officers being “misguided by external elements.” This statement comes in response to a letter signed by 500 Sebi employees that detailed a range of grievances, including harsh language, unrealistic targets, and a pervasive culture of fear. The employees claimed that shouting, scolding, and public humiliation had become commonplace in meetings, and that the management had replaced existing systems with regressive policies and frameworks.
The letter, titled ‘Grievances of Sebi Officers – A Call for Respect,’ highlighted the employees' concerns about the introduction of an automated management information system (MIS), which they argued was accompanied by an “unjustifiable” and “petty” threat of withholding claims for non-compliance. Furthermore, they criticized the point-wise key result area (KRA) system, which they deemed to have unrealistic targets that were constantly being shifted. They also voiced their dissatisfaction with the meticulous monitoring of employees' movements, alleging that the management was treating them like robots with the expectation of overnight output increases.
However, SEBI has countered these accusations, suggesting that the employees’ complaints stemmed from a desire for greater monetary benefits. The regulator highlighted that junior employees, despite earning a CTC of ₹34 lakh per annum, were demanding a 55% increase in house rent allowance (HRA) and had staged a 15-minute silent protest over the MIS system. SEBI claims that the employees’ demands would have resulted in an additional ₹6 lakh per annum in CTC. The regulator further accused a group of employees of strategically framing the issue as a work environment problem to leverage bargaining power for more benefits.
The employees, however, maintain that their concerns extend beyond financial incentives and reflect a genuine sense of dissatisfaction with the work environment. They argue that while officers in higher grades empathize with their concerns, they are afraid to publicly voice them due to the perceived vindictive nature of the leadership. The employees' letter highlights the pervasiveness of fear within SEBI, where even senior officers are hesitant to attend meetings for fear of facing verbal abuse from the highest levels of management.
Source: SEBI refutes ‘toxic work culture’ claim, says junior officers ‘misguided by external elements’