'Tragic Loss': Bajaj Finance Reacts To Suicide By Staff Citing Work Pressure

Bajaj Finance Ltd. on Tuesday issued a statement to mourn the death of one of its employees who died by suicide and blamed "work pressure" in a note left behind for his family.

The deceased employee, identified as 42-year-old Tarun Saxena, was working as an area manager for the non-banking financial company in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi. He was found dead at his residence on Monday.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Tarun Saxena and express our heartfelt condolences and full support to his family in this difficult time," Bajaj Finance said.

Saxena worked with the company for more than seven years. His loss will be felt immensely, the statement said.

"The company has well established policies of code of conduct that govern behaviour and conduct at the workplace; any deviation calls for strict disciplinary action," it said.

In his suicide note, Saxena had blamed his senior managers for thrusting undue pressure on him for failing to meet EMI collection targets. "I am very tense about the future. I have lost my ability to think. I am going," he said in the note.

Saxena also wrote that his seniors humiliated him, and warned him that he would lose his job if the targets were not met, NDTV reported, citing the five-page suicide note.

"I have not slept for 45 days. I have hardly eaten. I am under a lot of stress. senior managers are pressuring me to meet targets at any cost or quit," Saxena wrote. He further asked his family members to lodge a complaint against his seniors.

Bajaj Finance, in its statement, said the employees who have been blamed in the suicide note have been placed on administrative leave.

"Based on allegations, we have relieved the concerned employees of their current responsibilities and placed them on administrative leave, allowing for an unbiased and thorough investigation of the matter. We are also extending our full support to the authorities investigating the matter," it said.

The company also claimed that it is committed to "fostering a workplace environment that values and supports the well-being of our employees".

The suicide of Bajaj Finance's employee comes amid the uproar over the death of a 26-year-old accountant who was stressed due to high work pressure.

The deceased, Anna Sebastian Perayil, died after working at Ernst & Young India for four months. Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote to E&Y India Chairman Rajiv Memani last month, asking him to change a work culture that "seems to glorify overwork while neglecting the very human being behind the role".

In the letter, Augustine claimed that her daughter would work till late in the night, and even on the weekends, "with no opportunity to catch her breath". The Union Labour Ministry has taken cognisance of the case and ordered a probe into the matter.