Neville Lahiru
Over the past couple of days, local social media was flooded with a post pertaining to an Arimac Lanka employee who had taken his life over mounting workload pressure. The late employee, now known to be Mihiran Chathuranga had written a suicide note pointing to “high work pressure” and that he had attempted to resign four times citing due to work commitment issues. “No listeners here,” the note further read.
Mihiran was part of Arimac’s engineering team and had been at the company for 15 months. He first joined Arimac as an intern before proceeding to come up as a DevOps Engineer in mid-2022.
Accusations and Lingering questions
Arimac Lanka is a Sri Lankan tech firm that caters to several areas, ranging from large-scale enterprise development projects to immersive technology services. The Kanchayudha maker was a “Great Place To Work Certified” company in 2020 and currently employs over 300 personnel. Though following the incident, many have come to question the reality of Arimac’s appeal and its work culture, particularly considering its visibility in the tech industry.
In the wake of the news, Sri Lankans took to social media to voice their displeasure at Arimac, with many leaving one-star reviews on the company’s Google and Facebook pages. One review shared another employee experience that seems to echo similar sentiments to the currently circulating note.
In response to the incident, Arimac has since issued an official statement. “The management and staff of Arimac Lanka (Pvt) Ltd are heartbroken and devastated by the passing of our treasured colleague Mihiran Chathuranga,” the letter reads. It goes on to state that “Arimac considers its team as the core of the business, therefore, we feel the untimely passing of Mihiran, who was a part of that very core, is not just a loss to our organization but the entire nation.”
Though the statement didn’t divulge any answers to the numerous questions raised, Arimac did offer specifics upon ReadMe’s inquiry. For instance, with regard to concerns over Arimac’s work culture, the company rebukes the idea that it fosters a toxic environment. Arimac notes that it actively pushes for a free, open-door policy when it comes to the work culture and that being “like a family” is part of Arimac’s DNA from the top down.
The resignation
With regard to Mihiran’s resignation attempts, the company claims that the reality was different. According to Arimac, Mihiran first requested to resign early this year, at a time when the tech industry was looking at implementing dollar-pegged salaries within companies. Following conversations with the supervisor and the management, Mihiran had reportedly retracted his resignation and was promoted from Associate DevOps Engineer to DevOps Engineer. Then on 8 November, Mihiran submitted his resignation again, but this time the request went through and accepted. “He had a three-month notice period and was already in the process of exiting. Mihiran’s last day at Arimac would have been 8 February 2023,” Arimac COO Dulanjana Silva added.
Silva further mentioned that Mihiran had only cited “family issues” at the time and didn’t communicate anything beyond that officially with the team. However, alleged email communications between the late employee and a senior team member contradicting this have already surfaced online. As per the email, Mihiran had detailed his specific concerns including official contacts off working hours, picking up others’ work, as well as salary concerns.
Of course, the validity of the email is currently a question. Arimac points out that it’s yet to verify the alleged email’s authenticity. Though two things stand out from the email. One is that the mention of the salary increment from June corresponds to Mihiran’s promotion after his initial resignation concerns. Second, the point about needing to learn skills quickly is also echoed in Mihiran’s note.
A growing problem?
Sadly, issues around overworking and the seemingly eroding work-life balance are nothing new in Sri Lankan work culture. This incident highlights how problematic working conditions in the country can potentially be, particularly for an increasingly fast-paced industry like tech. Expectations of constant availability, even outside typical working hours have become the norm in many parts of the sector. After all, many development environments tend to go beyond the typical 8-5 scope. Unfortunately, that level of availability comes at the cost of the workforce.
Time will tell if any meaningful change will come out of this tragedy. In Arimac’s case, the company iterated that it’s currently exploring options and hopes to introduce any viable programs/policies. Either way, it may be well overdue that employee welfare gets a more serious look from every stakeholder in the tech industry.
Conversations around mental health can only go so far without actionable processes undertaken by companies and industry bodies. Innovation and economic growth may mean very little if the industry fails to protect its workforce’s well-being.
Don’t suffer in silence. Talk to someone today.
CCCline: 1333
Sumithrayo: 0112696666
Suwa Seriya: 1990
National Mental Health Helpline: 1926
If a company refer their employees as part of their “family” that’s an indication of toxic work environment. If you see that in a job post or hear it during an interview… My advice is RUN!!! as fast as you can away from them.
It’s so sad that this person felt like they had no one to turn to and that the work pressure was too much for them to handle. It’s a tragedy that despite attempting to resign four times, their work commitment issues were not taken into consideration. It’s important to remember that mental health is just as important as physical health and that we all need to be mindful of the signs that someone is struggling.
It’s unfortunate that Sri Lankan work culture seems to be stuck in a cycle of overworking and diminishing work-life balance.
It’s time for employers and employees to find ways to create a healthier and more sustainable work environment.
Great place to work, what a SCAM. README should write about that first! Wonder how much these companies pay to get certified as Great place to work. =D
Arimac may have obtained the Great Place to work using the influence of money .. I know that company.
But suiside is wrong according to any religion , I thing an emloyee must maintain his or her religious, family activities in order to avoid the mental preasure .
Also cultural activities needed to be involved to avoid mental stress .
The job time relaxing time must be scheduled separaTELY by us.
Also employees and top management must find easy ways and methods to finish higher workload
Emloyees must avoid competition among them
Employees must stand together to avoid overwork load and to win the prefered work culture
Also employees and top management must find easy ways and methods to finish higher workload
Also employees must maintain their spritual , religious activities.
The company also must arrange frequent religious events according to each emloyees religion
Companies must arrange frequent cultural events.
Emloyees must avoid too much competition among them
Employees must stand together to avoid overwork load and to win the prefered work culture