The things nobody explains at work

PIPs, notice periods, the bell curve, CTC, the right to disconnect. What they are, what they usually mean, and where the actual rules live. Checked against official sources, written for employees, never legal advice.

Hours and always-on

• The rules at work, in five countriesHours, overtime, notice, layoff pay and the right to disconnect in India, the US, the UK, Australia and the Philippines, on one page.
• Australia's right to disconnect: what it says and what it doesn'tThe rule other countries are watching, in plain English.
• The 70-hour week: who said it, what the law says, and why it keeps coming backIndia's most famous workplace argument, with the numbers that matter.
• Always-on culture: the green dot, the 9pm ping and the 'flexibility' trapHow 'flexible hours' turned into 'available hours', and what people are doing about it.
• Working hours in India: 48 a week, with caveatsWhat the new Labour Codes say about hours, overtime and the weekly day off.

Notice periods and exits

• PIP, translated: what a performance improvement plan is, and what it usually meansThree letters, one document, and the question everyone on one is too nervous to ask.
• 90-day notice in India: what decides it, and what doesn'tThe most searched sentence in Indian IT, answered without the legalese.
• Notice-period buyout in India: what it is, and why HR can say noPaying to leave the job you've already resigned from.
• Relieving letter vs experience certificate: the two documents HR holds ontoWhat each one proves, and why your next employer will ask for both.
• Exit interview questions: what to answer, what to skip, and what happens to the formThe only meeting where the company listens, held after it's too late to matter.

Meetings and pointless work

• Circle back: a translationWhat it means when someone says they'll circle back, and what it means when they don't.
• Per my last email: the politest way to say 'I already told you'What it means, why it lands like a slap, and what to write instead.

Pay and appraisals

• The bell curve: why your rating was decided before your reviewForced distribution, explained by someone who has sat on the wrong side of it.
• Variable pay: the part of your salary that varies, mostly towards zeroHow the 'variable' in your CTC works, and the questions to ask before you count on it.
• CTC, explained: the number in the offer letter vs the number in your bankCost to company is what you cost them. In-hand is what you get. Here's the gap.

Return to office

• RTO, explained: the mandate, the data, and the commuteReturn to office, decoded: what the memo says, what it measures, and what it doesn't.
• Can your company make you return to the office? Where the answer usually isIt mostly comes down to one document: your contract.

Layoffs and job security

• Layoffs in India: the legal floor and the company's 'policy'Notice, retrenchment compensation and the words HR uses instead of 'layoff'.
• Quiet firing: the PIP, the RTO and the managed exitWhen a company makes a job worse until you leave on your own.

HR

• HR is not your friend, and that's not an insult. It's a job description.What HR is for, who it works for, and how to use it well.

Hiring and interviews

• Culture fit: a mirror, not a metricWhat interviewers mean by it, and why 'not a fit' tells you so little.