Fired on Diwali for Someone Else’s Mistake—This Broke Me, but I’m Rebuilding

I’ve been holding this in for a while, but I think it’s time to let it out. Maybe it’ll help someone recognize the red flags before it’s too late. Maybe it’ll remind someone that their worth is not defined by a toxic workplace.

I used to work at an events company. I gave it everything I had—long nights, weekends, managing impossible deadlines, pulling off full-scale events on my own. I even hired people for them, tried to bring in structure, and worked on their website. But none of that mattered in the end.

I was fired on Diwali for something I didn’t even do.

We had team gifts—power banks—that needed printing. A colleague, who happened to be the nephew of a senior member, messed up the prints. Instead of holding him accountable, they deducted the entire cost from my salary. When I questioned why, I got no real answer. And then? They fired me.

The director even admitted later that only one of the prints had a slight issue, and the rest were fine. But by then, I had already been thrown out like I meant nothing.

And honestly? I should’ve seen it coming.

The boss was extremely ego-driven. Over time, he started contesting everything I said—every idea I pitched, no matter how well it was received by others, was shut down just because he didn’t come up with it. He forced us to copy another website, ignoring our better designs and warnings about plagiarism. Everything had to be done his way, no matter how flawed.

Yet, when it came to execution, I was expected to pull off miracles. One of my events, which I planned and executed in just a week—starting work at 6 AM and wrapping up at 10 PM—was a massive success. The client even called my boss up to appreciate my work. But my boss? He told me I had no contribution to the company.

I hired two people for them, and when they asked me to bring in a junior, I had to warn him not to join. They were going to exploit him with a two-year lock-in period. The candidate was ready. But I knew it would be career suicide. By that time, I had started seeing the pattern.

I also saw the way they treated employees. In just four months, I watched two others get fired. I was asked to hire B-school grads, pay them next to nothing, give them impossible targets, and fire them when they couldn’t meet them. It was a machine designed to use people up and spit them out.

The worst part is, these people exist in positions of power. They have the ability to ruin careers, kill confidence, and make good, hardworking people question their worth.

They even deducted money from my full and final settlement, labeling it as a “performance deduction.” I can’t even show my payslips now, which has made my job search harder.

But I’ve come to realize something.

The way a company treats you has nothing to do with your worth. Toxic employers will always find a way to shift blame, downplay your contributions, and make you feel small—because that’s the only way they can feel big.

To anyone stuck in a workplace like this: start looking out. The moment you see red flags, don’t ignore them. These companies do not care about you. Protect yourself.

I’m still rebuilding. My confidence, my mental health, my career. It’s been rough, but I refuse to let them define me.

Fk them