A 21-year-old content marketing strategist from Lucknow has gone viral after publicly sharing a brutally honest resignation email in which she called out low pay, toxic work culture and unrealistic expectations at her former workplace.
Pratishtha Gupta posted screenshots of the email on Instagram along with a strongly worded caption explaining why she refused to leave the company silently.
Viral Resignation Letter
In the resignation email dated March 9, Pratishtha announced her immediate exit and said the company should consider the email her "final log-out". "To be fr (for real), the math has stopped mathing, the vibes have rancidified, and the ROI on my sanity is in the negatives,” she wrote.
She further added, “I took a look at my daily tasks vs. my bank account and realised I'm out here playing a 5-man battle royale as a solo traveller.”
Using sarcasm and Gen Z slang throughout, Pratishtha listed the multiple responsibilities she allegedly handled at the company despite being paid modestly. According to the email, she worked as a content strategist, video editor, designer, analyst, SEO executive, WordPress developer, director and even an HR liaison “while secretly crying inside".
She also mocked the workload by saying she was doing all of it “for the price of a sourdough toast.”
Toxic Work Culture
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Pratishtha Gupta claimed she worked at two interconnected Lucknow-based firms run by a husband-wife duo — an IT company and a media-marketing agency.
After starting as a videography intern, she later worked at the IT firm for nearly eight months. She described the workplace as toxic and unprofessional, alleging interns were overloaded with work despite low pay, while management lacked understanding of marketing and design work. She also claimed the female founder often criticised her behind her back and disliked her "for being GenZ".
Instagram Caption And Viral Reactions
Sharing the resignation online, Pratishtha wrote, “One has to leave when things get toxic, but you don't have to leave with silence.” She further added, “I'm loud, and I will be loud whenever I freaking want to.”
She also claimed that even after resigning, HR representatives continued contacting her for help with operational tasks, including creating CSV files and sharing passwords.
The viral post drew mixed reactions online, with many praising her honesty while others debated her approach. Some users even urged her to reveal the company's name publicly.
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