u/Both_Television_4231

Hello everyone I’m making this post on behalf of my mausi, who has recently been diagnosed with carcinoma cervix cancer, she was a free lancer beautician earning mere 500-800/day. Now post her diagnosis she is too weak to work, she has a widow daughter with a child to look after as well and can’t afford her treatment.

I have attached all possible documentation required for verification and if still anyone requires any further documentation, kindly DM.

Total expenses
259000
5 cycle 25 session radiation 180000
5 chemo 110000
1 chemo 22000 once in a week
Immunotherapy 1 session 460000
5 session 23lac

Please contribute as much as possible, I promise to take down the post once enough funds are received.

Paytm: 8920759698@ptsbi

Ps: Not able to attach pictures, check comments.

It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even something she could name. But the way his eyes met hers, the way the air thickened between them—it left her breathless. Even now, she remembered how it felt to be seen when she wasn’t ready to be seen.

She had been working with the company for quite some time. A recent promotion required her to switch to a new branch. As she prepared for this new chapter, she never knew what awaited her just around the corner. She started learning about her new responsibilities, adjusting to a new environment, and trying to settle into the rhythm of work. In the midst of all this, one day, her eyes met with a guy.

His face was not one that could be ignored—there was something about his calm presence, his composed demeanor, the subtle way he carried himself. But because they only crossed paths briefly, she barely got a glimpse of him—a flash of his profile, the way his eyes met hers for a fraction of a second, the way his calm presence seemed to hold space without trying. That was all it took. Her breath caught, but she pushed the feeling aside. *It’s nothing,* she told herself. *Just a glance.*

But later that day, during a team meeting, the unexpected happened. Their eyes locked. It lasted longer than a second—but not enough for words, not enough for familiarity. Just enough to crack open something inside her. Her focus shattered. Her chest tightened, breath paused mid-inhale, and the glow of the screen in front of her seemed to dim. She looked away, but the warmth of his gaze lingered like a secret pulse against her skin.

The day dragged on, but the memory clung to her. When she saw him again in the hallway, or near her desk, her eyes searched for him without intending to. Her heart seemed louder than the office chatter. She told herself to stay composed, but even her friend noticed. Teasing with laughter, he almost let it slip—that she was distracted because she liked him. She wanted to hush him, embarrassed, but deep down, she felt seen.

The next phase came faster than she expected. The project began winding down, and the team gathered for a meeting. The room was packed, conversations overlapping, screens glowing. He stood beside her. Just beside her. The air between them seemed to thicken. Her heart stopped for a few seconds—seconds that felt like minutes. Her breath shortened, and she could feel the heat from his body radiating toward hers. Her palms grew clammy, and she struggled to focus on the speaker at the front. She wanted to breathe, to compose herself, but it felt like standing too close to a fire.

Then he shifted, even slightly, and she exhaled deeply, as if she’d been holding her breath all along. She forced herself to pay attention, though her eyes kept darting back to him. He was too cute, too unaware, too magnetic.

Days passed. Their eyes met daily—sometimes accidental, sometimes lingering. Once, she caught him staring. Her first reaction was to hide—pull her gaze away, adjust her posture, pretend she hadn’t noticed. But she couldn’t. Her cheeks flushed, and her breath hitched again. Later, another friend playfully covered for him, saying he stared because she wasn’t paying attention to work. The lie felt like a shield, and she let it pass.

One afternoon, she went to his cabin with another colleague sitting nearby. She was trying to focus on her work, but then, without meeting her eyes, he suddenly joked in an offhand tone, “Isn’t it suddenly hot in here?”

His words were casual, but the way he checked the AC vent twice, his eyes flicking briefly toward her before sliding away—it felt like the temperature had risen not from the room, but from the space between them. The warmth rushed to her cheeks, flooding her skin. Her fingers trembled over the keyboard. She kept her eyes glued to the screen, typing quickly, trying to focus, but her breath had already quickened. She wanted to disappear.

Without thinking, she quickly rushed out of the cabin, her heart pounding in her ears like a second heartbeat. The air seemed thick, charged, humming with something unsaid—something that neither of them dared acknowledge.

Then came another day, months later, when the process finally wound down and a larger meeting was called. Everyone gathered around. She stood near her supervisor, trying to be composed. And then he came and stood beside her again. Her heart screamed “No, not again.” When he left the room briefly, she moved to the other side, trying to escape the proximity. But when he returned, his eyes locked onto hers with such intensity that the air seemed to crackle. He didn’t look away. His gaze held, steady, unapologetic, almost daring her to meet it.

Her body betrayed her.

The heat that had been rising through her veins spilled outward, making her skin flush and sweat bead along her temples. Her feet, trapped inside her footwear, slickened against the floor. Without thinking, she pressed her bare feet onto the cold tiles, desperate for relief. The chill should have numbed her, but instead, it sent sharp shocks through her nerves. Her toes curled, shivering against the floor. She wanted nothing more than to breathe, to disappear, to erase the evidence of her discomfort.

But the moment her feet touched the floor, her body froze. He hadn’t looked away. Not for a second. His eyes tracked every twitch, every involuntary shiver, every tiny adjustment she made to steady herself. His gaze didn’t waver. It was a silent, consuming force that made her feel both stripped bare and achingly alive.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, her hands trembled at her sides, and the noise of the room receded until it was nothing but a dull blur. She wanted to slide her feet back into the shoes and hide—but something inside her stood paralyzed. She remained rooted to the spot, half-embarrassed, half-thrilled, held captive by his gaze and the crackling heat that surrounded them both.

Even as dozens of others filled the room, everything else disappeared. There was only him, her skin, the cold floor against her trembling feet, and the burning awareness that she was being seen—not for how composed she seemed, but for the raw, human tremor she couldn’t control.

That moment has stayed with her. Even now, when she recalls it, she feels the rush—the breathlessness, the warmth, the flutter, the nervous laughter bubbling just under her skin. It wasn’t just attraction—it was electricity. A force neither of them could fully control.

She doesn’t know what it all meant. There was never a conversation, never a confession. But the way he stood beside her, the way their eyes locked and lingered, the way the air seemed to shimmer between them—it showed her something real: how alive it feels when someone’s attention touches you, how deeply the body and mind respond when closeness, curiosity, and restraint collide.

Sometimes she wonders—what if they worked together again? Would the heat return? Would her breath hitch the same way? Would she smile shyly, or would they exchange a glance that says everything without words? She doesn’t know. But the memory is enough. It taught her what it feels like to be fully seen—not for perfection, but for presence. And that feeling… she still craves it.

It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even something she could name. But the way his eyes met hers, the way the air thickened between them—it left her breathless. Even now, she remembered how it felt to be seen when she wasn’t ready to be seen.

She had been working with the company for quite some time. A recent promotion required her to switch to a new branch. As she prepared for this new chapter, she never knew what awaited her just around the corner. She started learning about her new responsibilities, adjusting to a new environment, and trying to settle into the rhythm of work. In the midst of all this, one day, her eyes met with a guy.

His face was not one that could be ignored—there was something about his calm presence, his composed demeanor, the subtle way he carried himself. But because they only crossed paths briefly, she barely got a glimpse of him—a flash of his profile, the way his eyes met hers for a fraction of a second, the way his calm presence seemed to hold space without trying. That was all it took. Her breath caught, but she pushed the feeling aside. *It’s nothing,* she told herself. *Just a glance.*

But later that day, during a team meeting, the unexpected happened. Their eyes locked. It lasted longer than a second—but not enough for words, not enough for familiarity. Just enough to crack open something inside her. Her focus shattered. Her chest tightened, breath paused mid-inhale, and the glow of the screen in front of her seemed to dim. She looked away, but the warmth of his gaze lingered like a secret pulse against her skin.

The day dragged on, but the memory clung to her. When she saw him again in the hallway, or near her desk, her eyes searched for him without intending to. Her heart seemed louder than the office chatter. She told herself to stay composed, but even her friend noticed. Teasing with laughter, he almost let it slip—that she was distracted because she liked him. She wanted to hush him, embarrassed, but deep down, she felt seen.

The next phase came faster than she expected. The project began winding down, and the team gathered for a meeting. The room was packed, conversations overlapping, screens glowing. He stood beside her. Just beside her. The air between them seemed to thicken. Her heart stopped for a few seconds—seconds that felt like minutes. Her breath shortened, and she could feel the heat from his body radiating toward hers. Her palms grew clammy, and she struggled to focus on the speaker at the front. She wanted to breathe, to compose herself, but it felt like standing too close to a fire.

Then he shifted, even slightly, and she exhaled deeply, as if she’d been holding her breath all along. She forced herself to pay attention, though her eyes kept darting back to him. He was too cute, too unaware, too magnetic.

Days passed. Their eyes met daily—sometimes accidental, sometimes lingering. Once, she caught him staring. Her first reaction was to hide—pull her gaze away, adjust her posture, pretend she hadn’t noticed. But she couldn’t. Her cheeks flushed, and her breath hitched again. Later, another friend playfully covered for him, saying he stared because she wasn’t paying attention to work. The lie felt like a shield, and she let it pass.

One afternoon, she went to his cabin with another colleague sitting nearby. She was trying to focus on her work, but then, without meeting her eyes, he suddenly joked in an offhand tone, “Isn’t it suddenly hot in here?”

His words were casual, but the way he checked the AC vent twice, his eyes flicking briefly toward her before sliding away—it felt like the temperature had risen not from the room, but from the space between them. The warmth rushed to her cheeks, flooding her skin. Her fingers trembled over the keyboard. She kept her eyes glued to the screen, typing quickly, trying to focus, but her breath had already quickened. She wanted to disappear.

Without thinking, she quickly rushed out of the cabin, her heart pounding in her ears like a second heartbeat. The air seemed thick, charged, humming with something unsaid—something that neither of them dared acknowledge.

Then came another day, months later, when the process finally wound down and a larger meeting was called. Everyone gathered around. She stood near her supervisor, trying to be composed. And then he came and stood beside her again. Her heart screamed “No, not again.” When he left the room briefly, she moved to the other side, trying to escape the proximity. But when he returned, his eyes locked onto hers with such intensity that the air seemed to crackle. He didn’t look away. His gaze held, steady, unapologetic, almost daring her to meet it.

Her body betrayed her.

The heat that had been rising through her veins spilled outward, making her skin flush and sweat bead along her temples. Her feet, trapped inside her footwear, slickened against the floor. Without thinking, she pressed her bare feet onto the cold tiles, desperate for relief. The chill should have numbed her, but instead, it sent sharp shocks through her nerves. Her toes curled, shivering against the floor. She wanted nothing more than to breathe, to disappear, to erase the evidence of her discomfort.

But the moment her feet touched the floor, her body froze. He hadn’t looked away. Not for a second. His eyes tracked every twitch, every involuntary shiver, every tiny adjustment she made to steady herself. His gaze didn’t waver. It was a silent, consuming force that made her feel both stripped bare and achingly alive.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, her hands trembled at her sides, and the noise of the room receded until it was nothing but a dull blur. She wanted to slide her feet back into the shoes and hide—but something inside her stood paralyzed. She remained rooted to the spot, half-embarrassed, half-thrilled, held captive by his gaze and the crackling heat that surrounded them both.

Even as dozens of others filled the room, everything else disappeared. There was only him, her skin, the cold floor against her trembling feet, and the burning awareness that she was being seen—not for how composed she seemed, but for the raw, human tremor she couldn’t control.

That moment has stayed with her. Even now, when she recalls it, she feels the rush—the breathlessness, the warmth, the flutter, the nervous laughter bubbling just under her skin. It wasn’t just attraction—it was electricity. A force neither of them could fully control.

She doesn’t know what it all meant. There was never a conversation, never a confession. But the way he stood beside her, the way their eyes locked and lingered, the way the air seemed to shimmer between them—it showed her something real: how alive it feels when someone’s attention touches you, how deeply the body and mind respond when closeness, curiosity, and restraint collide.

Sometimes she wonders—what if they worked together again? Would the heat return? Would her breath hitch the same way? Would she smile shyly, or would they exchange a glance that says everything without words? She doesn’t know. But the memory is enough. It taught her what it feels like to be fully seen—not for perfection, but for presence. And that feeling… she still craves it.

Hi everyone,

Is it realistically possible to find a ~100 sq. yard, 3 BHK house/floor for rent in a decent area of West Delhi (e.g., Janakpuri, Tilak Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Paschim Vihar) under ₹20,000 - ₹25,000 per month? If I can get something under that budget in a decent place, it would honestly be a dream come true for me and my family.

Tenant: Family

Must-haves: reasonable Metro or public transport access, market and hospital/clinic nearby, safe neighborhood (I know that is next to impossible in Delhi), preferring upper ground or 1st floor in builder floors or maybe a complete independent house. Landlords should not be living in the same premises or nearby.

Or am I daydreaming and need a time machine to rent at these prices?

Suggestions on specific colonies or realistic budget expectations are welcome! Anything outside of West Delhi is also welcome, given the other priorities are met.

Hi everyone,

Is it realistically possible to find a ~100 sq. yard, 3 BHK house/floor for rent in a decent area of West Delhi (e.g., Janakpuri, Tilak Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Paschim Vihar) under ₹20,000 - ₹25,000 per month? If I can get something under that budget in a decent place, it would honestly be a dream come true for me and my family.

Tenant: Family

Must-haves: reasonable Metro or public transport access, market and hospital/clinic accesss, safe neighborhood (I know that is next to impossible in Delhi), preferring upper ground or 1st floor in builder floors or maybe a complete independent house. Landlords should not be living in the same premises or nearby.

Or am I daydreaming and need a time machine to rent at these prices?

Suggestions on specific colonies or realistic budget expectations are welcome! It can be out of West Delhi as well given the other priorities are met.

F37 My crush and I work in the same office, on the same floor but in different departments. This started a few months back when I was working from the office. My department follows a hybrid model—a few months we work from the office and a few months we work from home. We both do different shifts; he does the morning shift, and I do fixed 4:30 PM - 1:30 AM. Maybe he is a recent joinee, as I didn't see him earlier.

So it started when one day he was coming out of a meeting room and I was sitting on my desk working. I don't remember why I looked in the direction he was coming from, but our eyes met, and we looked at each other for a few seconds, then looked away and went on with our work. I turned my head and smiled whenever we caught each other stealing a glance after that.

One day he was leaving for the day, and he said bye so loudly! I quickly lifted my eyes to see and then checked the time to see what time he leaves and then smiled a little. Felt a little sad that he was leaving, but yeah, I was happy that we have each other's attention. His senior did notice what happened. 😅

A few days passed, and we daily caught each other looking and then quickly turning our heads when caught. 🙈 I told my friend that this is going on, and I asked him to look for himself as well if he does catch him looking at me. I asked him to do that, as that will prove that I am not delusional and something is definitely on. And to my relief, he did catch him looking at me and started teasing me 😄.

We told my other friend who joined us a few days later, as she was doing work from home earlier. I told them it started a few weeks before I confessed to them. They were happy and as excited as me and started teasing me whenever he was near. I couldn't stop blushing hard, and he caught me! I also asked my female friend to see for herself and confirm that I am not making a fool of myself. She confirmed that she had caught him looking at me multiple times, and he caught her as well looking at him 😂, so she stopped looking at him. By the way, both my friends are happily married to their partners. They both had a love marriage.

This eye-contact-ship has been going on since then. I am an introvert, a very shy person. I won't open up that easily with a stranger unless it's my duty when training or leading a batch. They both became my friends because they started talking to me; otherwise, I would sit in a corner, do my work and leave.

Coming back to my eye-contactship, one day he was in the cafeteria sitting with a colleague, and I was sitting at a distance. He noticed that I was there and stood up from his seat and came near to where I was sitting. I thought he was looking for something, so I just looked at him, and he looked at me and went back without saying anything. I and my friends have noticed multiple times that almost always when I am on break with my friends, he also joins with his friends. He speaks so softly that I never could hear his voice. Anyway, later on I did hear his voice, and I liked it.

To tell you, he is so cute with curly hair, wears glasses, has a fair dressing sense, and is tall (like we have a good height difference 🙈)! However, I don't know how old he is, what his name is, or if he is married or single... but one thing I know is that either I want to be on his good friends list so I can see him getting married and have those cute, adorable kids like him, or maybe I will be the one dating and then marrying him 🤣. How dreamy I am 😂.

I have a strong feeling that he has told his colleagues/friends about me even. As there were few other male teammates from his team who used to look at me earlier, but now they ignore me 😄. I am fine with that as long as I am getting the right person's attention. I don't know what he said to them. Then another proof is that the other day I was accidentally twinning with this guy, and one of his female colleagues who was standing near me looked at both of us and started humming some song. Thank God he was at a distance so he didn't hear anything or else we both would have been caught blushing on the floor!

I noticed whenever we are at a distance we are able to look into each other's eyes without shying away, but as the proximity gets closer we can't look at each other. So when we are passing each other in hallways or sitting in cafes or on the floor, I look in a way that I can see him looking at me, but he can't say that I was also looking at him. We have even caught each other moving our chairs in a direction to look at each other and got caught 🙈😅. But I just let him look at me completely so that at least one of us can look closely and be happy. Honestly, if he was a creep, then I would have felt that from his looks, but I always caught him looking at my face. I felt safe, happy, and peaceful.

I freeze when he is near me; I can't even look at him, can't say a word, and I just go numb. 😵‍💫🤐🥶 Gosh, I am reliving all those moments while I am sharing here, and my cheeks are hurting from blushing.

One time his senior called him in the cafeteria when I was there; he came and said, "I will join later." I felt sad but then continued with my work and coffee. After a few minutes I got up to get something from the vending machine, and I saw him sitting a few tables away where he can listen to me clearly, and if he turns his head, then he can look at my side profile. 🙈 That made me smile so hard while looking at the vending machine, but I saw him quickly leaving, which felt like he left because he got caught or maybe he actually had some work. His senior has seen me eye-to-eye since then but has not said anything to me.

Another senior of his asked him why these days he stays late sometimes, and they both were smiling after that. Now why wouldn't my heart flutter by all these? 😍☺️ His senior also asked him to get some grooming done while sitting next to my table, so he blushingly smiled and said he is not getting time these days and then looked at me. Btw, I don't even have his number till now.

The epic moment was when, for 5-7 minutes, we were both in the cafeteria and nobody else was available. The light went out, and only the emergency light was on; it was enough to brighten the whole room. He wanted to buy something from the vending machine, but as the light went out, he could not. I already had taken out some stuff, and I wanted to ask him if he wanted something, but it was all in my head; I could not say it out loud. He was humming some song, and when the light went out, he loudly said, "Oh, the light went out," and kept looking at me, but I dared not to look up and say a word 😑. So his attempt again got wasted 😩. I felt so bad for him and told my friends about the incident, and they were like, 'Why would you do that?' I told them I froze and I couldn't gather much courage to say a word or look at him, so I just let him look at me.

Generally when we both are in the cafeteria with our friends, I try to speak loud so I can get his attention and he can know what I think and know me a bit. 🤭

Anyway, so we know it's a mutual crush, but no one is moving forward; only the tension has been building up for months now. I came back to work from home in June and have seen him only twice after that, as I had to go for client meetings. But a good thing is that before going into WFH mode, my friends took multiple pics of him for me. I know this is so wrong, but I would miss him so badly, so I asked them to help me. In one or 2 of the pics, they even caught him looking at me. 🙈 I really don't know how not to freeze in front of him and at least say hi to him. I don't want to lose a chance of at least befriending him if nothing more.

There have been moments when he is standing quite close to me but also maintaining a respectful distance. Oh, and by the way, I tried to search him on LinkedIn, as I saw his friend's name on an ID card, so I thought I would find him there, but no, I could not. One day when he was standing close to me while we both were drinking water, he said "sunny" while looking at me. I don't know if that's his name/nickname or if he was respectfully talking about the room temperature, which was definitely up 🥵.

The only interaction we both have done till now is when I was sitting in a cabin with my team and his laptop was there. He came to pick that up, knocked on the door and smilingly said "laptop" while looking at the laptop and not at me. I said "yes", and once he left I couldn't stop smiling but had to control my smile as my team was sitting with me, so we continued with our work, and then when I came out of the room, my friends and I laughed about it as they saw everything. 🙈

Now you know the story of my crush, so any suggestions for a person like me? How can I know his name or know him in a respectful way or at least give him a signal that he can talk to me? Any suggestions would help.

Heads up—I will be seeing him again in late October or starting November.

Edit: Some of you guys are treating this post as if a serious crime has been committed. Come on, I am human, I have feelings. I am giving myself another chance at love, so what is so wrong about it? Where’s the crime? Nobody needs anyone's permission for that, it just happens.

And what about age? Who set the deadline that love or a crush cannot be found at a later stage in life? I am still a human at whatever age I might be. I have held myself back long enough, so huh... never knew I would get a push like this from both the positive and negative comments here.

Thanks, I will keep you posted!

Love and peace to you all 😘🤗

Hey everyone,

I’m a team lead at a big MNC, and I’ve run into a bit of a tricky situation. Two of the people on my team recently got married.

Honestly, I couldn't care less as long as the work gets done, and since we’re mostly work-from-home, it doesn’t really affect the team dynamic. The catch is that they haven't told anyone at work—not the team, not HR, nobody. They’re keeping it totally under wraps.

While I'm happy for them, I’m stressing a bit about the corporate side of things. I want to look out for them, but I also need to protect my own back as their manager.

I have a couple of questions:

• How can I quietly check company rules on this? I want to look into our HR policies about couples working in the same team without accidentally tipping anyone off. You know how gossip spreads at big companies—I don't want to start any rumours while trying to figure out if this is actually allowed.
• What happens if they get found out later? If HR or upper management catches wind of this down the line (definitely not from me), is it going to blow up on them for not disclosing it? And could I get into hot water for knowing about it and staying quiet?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would love to know how you handled it. Thanks!

Context:

• They told me directly: This isn’t gossip, and I didn't spy or stalk them on social media. The couple informed me directly in confidence. Because of this, "plausible deniability" is gone—I can't just claim it's "hearsay" or pretend I don't know without risking my own job if I hide a mandatory disclosure.
• HR Policies & Benefits: I haven't checked the handbook yet. I wanted outside strategic advice first before digging into compliance docs or leaving a digital footprint on our internal portal.
• Current Dynamic: They are strict peers (ICs) on a WFH team. Zero power imbalance, perfect KPIs, great work.
• The Upcoming Promotion: One of them is on track for an SME (Subject Matter Expert) promotion later this year. While not a direct people manager, an SME reviews peer work and guides the team. If this promotion happens while the marriage is a secret, it creates a massive conflict of interest that could ruin their promotion and get me in hot water for staying silent.

My real question for managers/HR:

Now that you have the full picture (they told me directly, and an SME promotion is on the line), how do I strategically sit down with them? How do I explain that they need to disclose this to HR to protect that upcoming promotion without making them feel like I'm breaking their trust or blocking their growth?

Hey everyone,

I’m a team lead at a big MNC, and I’ve run into a bit of a tricky situation. Two of the people on my team recently got married.

Honestly, I couldn't care less as long as the work gets done, and since we’re mostly work-from-home, it doesn’t really affect the team dynamic. The catch is that they haven't told anyone at work—not the team, not HR, nobody. They’re keeping it totally under wraps.

While I'm happy for them, I’m stressing a bit about the corporate side of things. I want to look out for them, but I also need to protect my own back as their manager.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How can I quietly check company rules on this? I want to look into our HR policies about couples working in the same team without accidentally tipping anyone off. You know how gossip spreads at big companies—I don't want to start any rumors while trying to figure out if this is actually allowed.
2. What happens if they get found out later? If HR or upper management catches wind of this down the line (definitely not from me), is it going to blow up on them for not disclosing it? And could I get into hot water for knowing about it and staying quiet?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would love to know how you handled it. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m a team lead at a big MNC, and I’ve run into a bit of a tricky situation. Two of the people on my team recently got married.

Honestly, I couldn't care less as long as the work gets done, and since we’re mostly work-from-home, it doesn’t really affect the team dynamic. The catch is that they haven't told anyone at work—not the team, not HR, nobody. They’re keeping it totally under wraps.

While I'm happy for them, I’m stressing a bit about the corporate side of things. I want to look out for them, but I also need to protect my own back as their manager.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How can I quietly check company rules on this? I want to look into our HR policies about couples working in the same team without accidentally tipping anyone off. You know how gossip spreads at big companies—I don't want to start any rumors while trying to figure out if this is actually allowed.
2. What happens if they get found out later? If HR or upper management catches wind of this down the line (definitely not from me), is it going to blow up on them for not disclosing it? And could I get into hot water for knowing about it and staying quiet?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would love to know how you handled it. Thanks!

Edit: here is a quick update to fill in the missing context:

• They told me directly: This isn’t gossip, and I didn't spy. The couple informed me in confidence. Because of this, "plausible deniability" is gone—I can't just pretend I don't know without risking my own job if I hide it.
• HR Policies: I haven't checked the handbook yet. I wanted outside advice first before digging into compliance docs or leaving a digital footprint on our internal portal.
• Current Dynamic: They are strict peers (ICs) on a WFH team. Zero power imbalance, perfect KPIs, great work.
• The Upcoming Promotion: One of them is on track for an SME (Subject Matter Expert) promotion later this year. While not a people manager, an SME reviews peer work and guides the team. If this promotion happens while the marriage is a secret, it creates a massive conflict of interest that could ruin their promotion and get me in hot water for staying silent.

My real question for managers/HR:

Now that you know they told me directly and an SME promotion is on the line, how do I strategically sit down with them? How do I explain that they need to disclose this to HR to protect the promotion without making them feel like I'm breaking their trust or blocking their growth?

Hey everyone,

I’m a team lead at a big MNC, and I’ve run into a bit of a tricky situation. Two of the people on my team recently got married.

Honestly, I couldn't care less as long as the work gets done, and since we’re mostly work-from-home, it doesn’t really affect the team dynamic. The catch is that they haven't told anyone at work—not the team, not HR, nobody. They’re keeping it totally under wraps.

While I'm happy for them, I’m stressing a bit about the corporate side of things. I want to look out for them, but I also need to protect my own back as their manager.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How can I quietly check company rules on this? I want to look into our HR policies about couples working in the same team without accidentally tipping anyone off. You know how gossip spreads at big companies—I don't want to start any rumors while trying to figure out if this is actually allowed.
2. What happens if they get found out later? If HR or upper management catches wind of this down the line (definitely not from me), is it going to blow up on them for not disclosing it? And could I get into hot water for knowing about it and staying quiet?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would love to know how you handled it. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m a team lead at a big MNC, and I’ve run into a bit of a tricky situation. Two of the people on my team recently got married.

Honestly, I couldn't care less as long as the work gets done, and since we’re mostly work-from-home, it doesn’t really affect the team dynamic. The catch is that they haven't told anyone at work—not the team, not HR, nobody. They’re keeping it totally under wraps.

While I'm happy for them, I’m stressing a bit about the corporate side of things. I want to look out for them, but I also need to protect my own back as their manager.

I have a couple of questions:

1. How can I quietly check company rules on this? I want to look into our HR policies about couples working in the same team without accidentally tipping anyone off. You know how gossip spreads at big companies—I don't want to start any rumors while trying to figure out if this is actually allowed.
2. What happens if they get found out later? If HR or upper management catches wind of this down the line (definitely not from me), is it going to blow up on them for not disclosing it? And could I get into hot water for knowing about it and staying quiet?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Would love to know how you handled it. Thanks!

Everyday I have to fight myself to not take leave and work. Yes I am the sole earner from middle class family so I do not have a privilege. Everyday feels like a burden to login because of the environment we have now at the office. For initial 2-3 years it was like there's no place better than this one and actually the environment was really nice that you would want to work hard, give your best but now I hardly feel like doing anything there.

The person who once was a star performer, a workaholic is now trying to neglect work. Though I still do what's required of me but not with the same enthusiasm and dedication.

This change happened when my manager compared me with someone who is a low performer working under me and my manager is well aware how this person performs but still give favors. And I was told by my manager if he gets an option to fire either of us out of the company he will see whichever is the easier target. He was very casual about it.

So all of my hard work is coming to halt now. I have stopped caring much about work. Though I feel guilty of being this way but I still somewhere feel I am not doing anything wrong​ for being this way now. And somehowI still get worried too about my job security everyday though I know people have done so much wrong and still are in the company.

Hey everyone,

Apart from LinkedIn, where else do you look for visa-sponsored jobs?

I'm planning a global job search, so recommendations from any country are welcome. If you've had success with a particular job board, company career page, recruiter, or any other source, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Which sources have given you the best response rate?

Thank you in advance!

Hey, apart from LinkedIn, where else can I look for visa-sponsored jobs. I will be searching globally, so any advice is welcome. Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently pursuing the Google Project Management Certificate, and while doing some research today, I came across Andrew Ramdayal's PMP course on Udemy. I learned that it's updated to align with the latest PMP exam standard, which has left me a bit confused about the best way to prepare.

Once I complete the Google Project Management Certificate, should I also take Andrew Ramdayal's PMP course before beginning my PMP exam preparation, or should I skip it and move directly to practice questions, mock exams, and other exam-focused study materials?

My goal is to take the PMP exam by October 2026, so I want to make the best use of my time. Am I making the right choice with my current plan?

I've attached a screenshot for reference. Any advice from those who have recently passed the PMP exam would be greatly appreciated.

https://preview.redd.it/kytzpeox33ch1.png?width=549&format=png&auto=webp&s=c23386af29c685b711a1c9df6f13d09dff196f1a

I have been with my company for the past 4.5 years, and until September 2025, things were going well. I genuinely enjoyed my work, my team, and the environment.

For context, the people who raised complaints against me were previously my colleagues. I was first promoted to SME and then Team Lead, so my manager has worked directly with all of us over the years and knows everyone's work. The employee I recommended was eligible for the promotion. Both my manager and I believed he was ready based on his performance, knowledge, leadership, and the way he handled the team whenever I wasn't available.

The issue was that he had less tenure than others in the batch, and several team members believed promotions should go to people with more tenure rather than better performance. Looking back, I do accept that I didn't explain clearly enough to the team why he had been chosen. My manager knew the reasons because he had also supported the recommendation.

That's when the politics started.

Some team members accused me of favouring him, even though my decision was based entirely on performance. Before this incident, my manager had never questioned how I worked. We had worked together for four years, and he knew my work ethic, integrity, and how seriously I took my responsibilities.

But once complaints were raised against me, everything changed.

Instead of hearing my side, he accepted what the majority had to say. The trust we had built over the years seemed to disappear overnight. He started making comments about my job security and began treating me differently.

When the complaints were first mentioned, I asked if I could see exactly what had been written about me. I wasn't trying to find out who had complained—I wanted to understand what I had supposedly done wrong so I could learn from it if I had genuinely made mistakes.

My manager told me there were written complaints but said that if I insisted on seeing them, HR would have to get involved and it could negatively affect my performance rating. He also assured me that as long as I didn't pursue it further, the complaints would not affect my appraisal. I trusted him and let it go.

Later, during my appraisal, my rating was marked down anyway. There wasn't even an appraisal discussion. I had no opportunity to understand the reasoning or explain my side. Looking back, I honestly regret trusting my manager.

Around the same time, the team member I had recommended and I became aware that some people were actively trying to stop his promotion. When I brought this to my manager's attention, he dismissed it, saying nobody was trying to stop it.

What hurts the most is that my manager knows these people. He has worked directly with all of them and has personally seen the difference in performance between them and the person I recommended. Before all of this happened, he himself wanted to promote this employee and had even suggested that a few of the lower performers should eventually be moved out of the team. That's why his complete change after the complaints has been so difficult for me to understand.

He later expected me to promote one of the employees who had complained against me. I explained that promoting her wouldn't really help either the team or me because she still required constant guidance and I had to double-check almost everything she did. Instead of reducing my workload, it would increase it. In the end, not only was the deserving employee's promotion stopped, but my own promotion was also put on hold.

One incident still stays with me.

During our office party, after receiving an award for continuous excellent work, I overheard my manager talking to HR about my demotion. A few days later, while we were working in the office, he casually said, "I need to remove either you or that girl—whoever is the easier target."

That broke me.

After years of putting work before myself, giving extra hours whenever needed, and trying to do the right thing, hearing those words from someone who had worked with me for years was incredibly painful.

What surprises me most is how much this experience has affected me. In over four years with the company, I had never cried at work. But after the complaints, being portrayed so negatively, and not even being given the opportunity to explain my side, I completely broke down. I even cried in front of my manager, something I never imagined I would do.

I don't cry easily, and I've never used my emotions to gain sympathy. But when people I trusted and genuinely cared about turned against me, it became too much to hold in. What hurt even more was my manager's response. He didn't say anything directly, but his expressions made me feel as though my feelings didn't matter and that I should simply accept it and move on.

Instead of discussing the concerns with me or helping me understand what had changed, he simply started telling me to do things that I had already been doing. When I tried explaining that I was already following those practices, he wasn't willing to listen. At that point, I accepted it like a defeated warrior because I felt there was nothing more I could say that would change his mind.

The employee who had openly spoken against me during the office party—telling both old and new colleagues how incompetent I supposedly was—is now suddenly being unusually kind and friendly towards me again. Around the same time, she was also telling people that she would be getting promoted soon.

Over the past several months, I've found myself living in survival mode. I can't focus on my work the way I used to because the politics consume my mind. Even small mistakes scare me because I'm constantly wondering what action might be taken against me. I live with an ongoing fear of losing my job.

I hate working like this.

So now I'm focusing on what I can control. I'm pursuing professional certifications, preparing for a transition into Project Management, networking, and trying to seek guidance from my senior manager and director. They know things haven't been going well, and at least my senior manager understands much more of what has actually happened. I'm also planning to have an honest conversation with him.

I genuinely hoped to stay with this company much longer because the culture I joined was very different from what it has become today.

I know office politics exist everywhere, and I know this won't be the last difficult situation I'll face in my career. I'm not looking for validation. I genuinely want to understand whether there are things I could have handled differently and how experienced leaders navigate situations like this without letting them consume them emotionally.

For those of you who have managed teams or led organisations:

• Is there something I could have handled differently?
• If you had been my manager, how would you have handled this situation?
• How do you rebuild trust when your manager has already formed an opinion about you?
• How do you protect both your reputation and your mental well-being while you're still working in an environment like this?

I'm genuinely open to hearing honest feedback, even if it's difficult to hear. I want to learn and become a better leader from this experience.

I have been with my company for the past 4.5 years, and until September 2025, things were going well. I genuinely enjoyed my work, my team, and the environment.

For context, the people who raised complaints against me were previously my colleagues. I was first promoted to SME and then Team Lead, so my manager has worked directly with all of us over the years and knows everyone's work. The employee I recommended was eligible for the promotion. Both my manager and I believed he was ready based on his performance, knowledge, leadership, and the way he handled the team whenever I wasn't available.

The issue was that he had less tenure than others in the batch, and several team members believed promotions should go to people with more tenure rather than better performance. Looking back, I do accept that I didn't explain clearly enough to the team why he had been chosen. My manager knew the reasons because he had also supported the recommendation.

That's when the politics started.

Some team members accused me of favouring him, even though my decision was based entirely on performance. Before this incident, my manager had never questioned how I worked. We had worked together for four years, and he knew my work ethic, integrity, and how seriously I took my responsibilities.

But once complaints were raised against me, everything changed.

Instead of hearing my side, he accepted what the majority had to say. The trust we had built over the years seemed to disappear overnight. He started making comments about my job security and began treating me differently.

When the complaints were first mentioned, I asked if I could see exactly what had been written about me. I wasn't trying to find out who had complained—I wanted to understand what I had supposedly done wrong so I could learn from it if I had genuinely made mistakes.

My manager told me there were written complaints but said that if I insisted on seeing them, HR would have to get involved and it could negatively affect my performance rating. He also assured me that as long as I didn't pursue it further, the complaints would not affect my appraisal. I trusted him and let it go.

Later, during my appraisal, my rating was marked down anyway. There wasn't even an appraisal discussion. I had no opportunity to understand the reasoning or explain my side. Looking back, I honestly regret trusting my manager.

Around the same time, the team member I had recommended and I became aware that some people were actively trying to stop his promotion. When I brought this to my manager's attention, he dismissed it, saying nobody was trying to stop it.

What hurts the most is that my manager knows these people. He has worked directly with all of them and has personally seen the difference in performance between them and the person I recommended. Before all of this happened, he himself wanted to promote this employee and had even suggested that a few of the lower performers should eventually be moved out of the team. That's why his complete change after the complaints has been so difficult for me to understand.

He later expected me to promote one of the employees who had complained against me. I explained that promoting her wouldn't really help either the team or me because she still required constant guidance and I had to double-check almost everything she did. Instead of reducing my workload, it would increase it. In the end, not only was the deserving employee's promotion stopped, but my own promotion was also put on hold.

One incident still stays with me.

During our office party, after receiving an award for continuous excellent work, I overheard my manager talking to HR about my demotion. A few days later, while we were working in the office, he casually said, "I need to remove either you or that girl—whoever is the easier target."

That broke me.

After years of putting work before myself, giving extra hours whenever needed, and trying to do the right thing, hearing those words from someone who had worked with me for years was incredibly painful.

What surprises me most is how much this experience has affected me. In over four years with the company, I had never cried at work. But after the complaints, being portrayed so negatively, and not even being given the opportunity to explain my side, I completely broke down. I even cried in front of my manager, something I never imagined I would do.

I don't cry easily, and I've never used my emotions to gain sympathy. But when people I trusted and genuinely cared about turned against me, it became too much to hold in. What hurt even more was my manager's response. He didn't say anything directly, but his expressions made me feel as though my feelings didn't matter and that I should simply accept it and move on.

Instead of discussing the concerns with me or helping me understand what had changed, he simply started telling me to do things that I had already been doing. When I tried explaining that I was already following those practices, he wasn't willing to listen. At that point, I accepted it like a defeated warrior because I felt there was nothing more I could say that would change his mind.

The employee who had openly spoken against me during the office party—telling both old and new colleagues how incompetent I supposedly was—is now suddenly being unusually kind and friendly towards me again. Around the same time, she was also telling people that she would be getting promoted soon.

Over the past several months, I've found myself living in survival mode. I can't focus on my work the way I used to because the politics consume my mind. Even small mistakes scare me because I'm constantly wondering what action might be taken against me. I live with an ongoing fear of losing my job.

I hate working like this.

So now I'm focusing on what I can control. I'm pursuing professional certifications, preparing for a transition into Project Management, networking, and trying to seek guidance from my senior manager and director. They know things haven't been going well, and at least my senior manager understands much more of what has actually happened. I'm also planning to have an honest conversation with him.

I genuinely hoped to stay with this company much longer because the culture I joined was very different from what it has become today.

I know office politics exist everywhere, and I know this won't be the last difficult situation I'll face in my career. I'm not looking for validation. I genuinely want to understand whether there are things I could have handled differently and how experienced leaders navigate situations like this without letting them consume them emotionally.

For those of you who have managed teams or led organisations:

• Is there something I could have handled differently?
• If you had been my manager, how would you have handled this situation?
• How do you rebuild trust when your manager has already formed an opinion about you?
• How do you protect both your reputation and your mental well-being while you're still working in an environment like this?

I'm genuinely open to hearing honest feedback, even if it's difficult to hear. I want to learn and become a better leader from this experience.

I have been with my company for the past 4.5 years, and until September 2025, things were going well. I genuinely enjoyed my work, my team, and the environment.

For context, the people who raised complaints against me were previously my colleagues. I was first promoted to SME and then Team Lead, so my manager has worked directly with all of us over the years and knows everyone's work. The employee I recommended was eligible for the promotion. Both my manager and I believed he was ready based on his performance, knowledge, leadership, and the way he handled the team whenever I wasn't available.

The issue was that he had less tenure than others in the batch, and several team members believed promotions should go to people with more tenure rather than better performance. Looking back, I do accept that I didn't explain clearly enough to the team why he had been chosen. My manager knew the reasons because he had also supported the recommendation.

That's when the politics started.

Some team members accused me of favouring him, even though my decision was based entirely on performance. Before this incident, my manager had never questioned how I worked. We had worked together for four years, and he knew my work ethic, integrity, and how seriously I took my responsibilities.

But once complaints were raised against me, everything changed.

Instead of hearing my side, he accepted what the majority had to say. The trust we had built over the years seemed to disappear overnight. He started making comments about my job security and began treating me differently.

When the complaints were first mentioned, I asked if I could see exactly what had been written about me. I wasn't trying to find out who had complained—I wanted to understand what I had supposedly done wrong so I could learn from it if I had genuinely made mistakes.

My manager told me there were written complaints but said that if I insisted on seeing them, HR would have to get involved and it could negatively affect my performance rating. He also assured me that as long as I didn't pursue it further, the complaints would not affect my appraisal. I trusted him and let it go.

Later, during my appraisal, my rating was marked down anyway. There wasn't even an appraisal discussion. I had no opportunity to understand the reasoning or explain my side. Looking back, I honestly regret trusting my manager.

Around the same time, the team member I had recommended and I became aware that some people were actively trying to stop his promotion. When I brought this to my manager's attention, he dismissed it, saying nobody was trying to stop it.

What hurts the most is that my manager knows these people. He has worked directly with all of them and has personally seen the difference in performance between them and the person I recommended. Before all of this happened, he himself wanted to promote this employee and had even suggested that a few of the lower performers should eventually be moved out of the team. That's why his complete change after the complaints has been so difficult for me to understand.

He later expected me to promote one of the employees who had complained against me. I explained that promoting her wouldn't really help either the team or me because she still required constant guidance and I had to double-check almost everything she did. Instead of reducing my workload, it would increase it. In the end, not only was the deserving employee's promotion stopped, but my own promotion was also put on hold.

One incident still stays with me.

During our office party, after receiving an award for continuous excellent work, I overheard my manager talking to HR about my demotion. A few days later, while we were working in the office, he casually said, "I need to remove either you or that girl—whoever is the easier target."

That broke me.

After years of putting work before myself, giving extra hours whenever needed, and trying to do the right thing, hearing those words from someone who had worked with me for years was incredibly painful.

What surprises me most is how much this experience has affected me. In over four years with the company, I had never cried at work. But after the complaints, being portrayed so negatively, and not even being given the opportunity to explain my side, I completely broke down. I even cried in front of my manager, something I never imagined I would do.

I don't cry easily, and I've never used my emotions to gain sympathy. But when people I trusted and genuinely cared about turned against me, it became too much to hold in. What hurt even more was my manager's response. He didn't say anything directly, but his expressions made me feel as though my feelings didn't matter and that I should simply accept it and move on.

Instead of discussing the concerns with me or helping me understand what had changed, he simply started telling me to do things that I had already been doing. When I tried explaining that I was already following those practices, he wasn't willing to listen. At that point, I accepted it like a defeated warrior because I felt there was nothing more I could say that would change his mind.

The employee who had openly spoken against me during the office party—telling both old and new colleagues how incompetent I supposedly was—is now suddenly being unusually kind and friendly towards me again. Around the same time, she was also telling people that she would be getting promoted soon.

Over the past several months, I've found myself living in survival mode. I can't focus on my work the way I used to because the politics consume my mind. Even small mistakes scare me because I'm constantly wondering what action might be taken against me. I live with an ongoing fear of losing my job.

I hate working like this.

So now I'm focusing on what I can control. I'm pursuing professional certifications, preparing for a transition into Project Management, networking, and trying to seek guidance from my senior manager and director. They know things haven't been going well, and at least my senior manager understands much more of what has actually happened. I'm also planning to have an honest conversation with him.

I genuinely hoped to stay with this company much longer because the culture I joined was very different from what it has become today.

I know office politics exist everywhere, and I know this won't be the last difficult situation I'll face in my career. I'm not looking for validation. I genuinely want to understand whether there are things I could have handled differently and how experienced leaders navigate situations like this without letting them consume them emotionally.

For those of you who have managed teams or led organisations:

• Is there something I could have handled differently?
• If you had been my manager, how would you have handled this situation?
• How do you rebuild trust when your manager has already formed an opinion about you? Or should I?
• How do you protect both your reputation and your mental well-being while you're still working in an environment like this?

I'm genuinely open to hearing honest feedback, even if it's difficult to hear. I want to learn and become a better leader from this experience.

I have been with my company for the past 4.5 years, and until September 2025, things were going well. I genuinely enjoyed my work, my team, and the environment. That changed when I decided to promote one of my team members based on merit.

This team member had consistently demonstrated the capability, knowledge, and leadership needed for the role. Both my manager and I believed he was ready. However, because he had less tenure than others in the batch, several team members felt they deserved the opportunity instead. That's when the politics started.

Some team members accused me of favouring him, even though my decision was based entirely on performance. Before this incident, my manager had never questioned how I worked. We had worked together for four years, and he knew my work ethic, integrity, and how seriously I took my responsibilities.

But once complaints were raised against me, everything changed.

Instead of hearing my side, he accepted what the majority had to say. The trust we had built over the years seemed to disappear overnight. He started making comments about my job security and began treating me differently.

When the complaints were first mentioned, I asked if I could see exactly what had been written about me. My manager told me there were written complaints but said that if I insisted on seeing them, HR would have to get involved and it could negatively affect my performance rating. He also assured me that as long as I didn't pursue it further, the complaints would not affect my appraisal. I trusted him and let it go.

Later, during my appraisal, my rating was marked down anyway. There wasn't even an appraisal discussion. I had no opportunity to understand the reasoning or explain my side. Looking back, I honestly regret trusting my manager.

Around the same time, the team member I had recommended for promotion and I became aware that some people were actively trying to stop his promotion. When I brought this to my manager's attention, he dismissed it, saying that nobody was trying to stop the promotion.

What hurts the most is that my manager knows these people. He has worked directly with all of them and has personally seen the difference in performance between them and the person I recommended. Before all of this happened, he himself wanted to promote this employee and had even suggested that a few of the lower performers should eventually be moved out of the team. That's why his complete change after the complaints has been so difficult for me to understand.

He later expected me to promote one of the employees who had complained against me. I explained that promoting her wouldn't really help either the team or me. She still required constant guidance, and I would have to double-check almost everything she did. Instead of reducing my workload, it would increase it. In the end, not only was the deserving employee's promotion stopped, but my own promotion was put on hold as well.

One incident still stays with me. During our office party, after receiving an award for continuous excellent work, I overheard my manager talking to HR about my demotion. A few days later, while we were working in the office, he casually said, "I need to remove either you or that girl—whoever is the easier target" when the other team members from other teams were just beside us.

That broke me.

After years of putting work before myself, giving extra hours whenever needed, and trying to do the right thing, hearing those words from someone who had worked with me for years was incredibly painful.

What surprises me most is how much this experience has affected me. In over four years with the company, I had never cried at work. Not once. But after the complaints, being portrayed so negatively, and not even being given the opportunity to explain my side, I completely broke down. I even cried in front of my manager, something I never imagined I would do.

I don't cry easily, and I've never used my emotions to gain sympathy. But when people I trusted and genuinely cared about turned against me, it became too much to hold in. What hurt even more was my manager's response. He didn't say anything directly, but his expressions made me feel as though my feelings didn't matter and that I should simply accept it and move on.

Instead of discussing the concerns with me or helping me understand what had changed, he simply started telling me to do things that I had already been doing all along. At that point, I accepted it like a defeated warrior because I felt there was nothing more I could say that would change his mind.

The employee who had openly spoken against me during the office party—telling both old and new colleagues how incompetent I supposedly was—is now suddenly being unusually kind and friendly towards me again. Around the same time, she was also telling people that she would be getting promoted soon.

Over the past several months, I've found myself living in survival mode. I can't focus on my work the way I used to because the politics consume my mind. Even small mistakes scare me now because I'm constantly wondering what action might be taken against me. I live with an ongoing fear of losing my job, despite knowing that people around me have made far more serious mistakes than I ever have.

I hate working like this.

I've reached a point where I no longer feel motivated to give the extra effort I once did. Instead, I'm trying to focus on what I can control. I'm pursuing professional certifications, preparing myself for better opportunities, and trying to seek recommendations and guidance from my senior manager and director to support my professional growth. They are aware that things haven't been going well, and at least my senior manager knows much more about what has actually happened. I'm also planning to have an honest conversation with him.

I genuinely hoped to stay with this company for much longer because the culture I joined was very different from what it has become today.

I know office politics exist everywhere, and I know this won't be the last difficult situation I'll face in my career. I genuinely want to learn how experienced leaders handle situations like these professionally without allowing them to consume them emotionally.

For those of you who have managed teams or led organisations:

Is there something I could have handled differently?

How would you deal with a situation like this while still remaining professional?

How do you protect both your reputation and your mental well-being when you've lost your manager's trust, whether fairly or unfairly?

I'm genuinely open to hearing honest feedback, even if it's difficult to hear. I want to learn and become a better leader from this experience.

I have been with my company for the past 4.5 years, and until September 2025, things were going well. I genuinely enjoyed my work, my team, and the environment. That changed when I decided to promote one of my team members based on merit.

This team member had consistently demonstrated the capability, knowledge, and leadership needed for the role. Both my manager and I believed he was ready. However, because he had less tenure than others in the batch, several team members felt they deserved the opportunity instead. That's when the politics started.

Some team members accused me of favouring him, even though my decision was based entirely on performance. Before this incident, my manager had never questioned how I worked. We had worked together for four years, and he knew my work ethic, integrity, and how seriously I took my responsibilities.

But once complaints were raised against me, everything changed.

Instead of hearing my side, he accepted what the majority had to say. The trust we had built over the years seemed to disappear overnight. He started making comments about my job security and began treating me differently.

When the complaints were first mentioned, I asked if I could see exactly what had been written about me. My manager told me there were written complaints but said that if I insisted on seeing them, HR would have to get involved and it could negatively affect my performance rating. He also assured me that as long as I didn't pursue it further, the complaints would not affect my appraisal. I trusted him and let it go.

Later, during my appraisal, my rating was marked down anyway. There wasn't even an appraisal discussion. I had no opportunity to understand the reasoning or explain my side. Looking back, I honestly regret trusting my manager.

Around the same time, the team member I had recommended for promotion and I became aware that some people were actively trying to stop his promotion. When I brought this to my manager's attention, he dismissed it, saying that nobody was trying to stop the promotion.

What hurts the most is that my manager knows these people. He has worked directly with all of them and has personally seen the difference in performance between them and the person I recommended. Before all of this happened, he himself wanted to promote this employee and had even suggested that a few of the lower performers should eventually be moved out of the team. That's why his complete change after the complaints has been so difficult for me to understand.

He later expected me to promote one of the employees who had complained against me. I explained that promoting her wouldn't really help either the team or me. She still required constant guidance, and I would have to double-check almost everything she did. Instead of reducing my workload, it would increase it. In the end, not only was the deserving employee's promotion stopped, but my own promotion was put on hold as well.

One incident still stays with me. During our office party, after receiving an award for continuous excellent work, I overheard my manager talking to HR about my demotion. A few days later, while we were working in the office, he casually said, "I need to remove either you or that girl—whoever is the easier target" when the other team members from other teams were just beside us.

That broke me.

After years of putting work before myself, giving extra hours whenever needed, and trying to do the right thing, hearing those words from someone who had worked with me for years was incredibly painful.

What surprises me most is how much this experience has affected me. In over four years with the company, I had never cried at work. Not once. But after the complaints, being portrayed so negatively, and not even being given the opportunity to explain my side, I completely broke down. I even cried in front of my manager, something I never imagined I would do.

I don't cry easily, and I've never used my emotions to gain sympathy. But when people I trusted and genuinely cared about turned against me, it became too much to hold in. What hurt even more was my manager's response. He didn't say anything directly, but his expressions made me feel as though my feelings didn't matter and that I should simply accept it and move on.

Instead of discussing the concerns with me or helping me understand what had changed, he simply started telling me to do things that I had already been doing all along. At that point, I accepted it like a defeated warrior because I felt there was nothing more I could say that would change his mind.

The employee who had openly spoken against me during the office party—telling both old and new colleagues how incompetent I supposedly was—is now suddenly being unusually kind and friendly towards me again. Around the same time, she was also telling people that she would be getting promoted soon.

Over the past several months, I've found myself living in survival mode. I can't focus on my work the way I used to because the politics consume my mind. Even small mistakes scare me now because I'm constantly wondering what action might be taken against me. I live with an ongoing fear of losing my job, despite knowing that people around me have made far more serious mistakes than I ever have.

I hate working like this.

I've reached a point where I no longer feel motivated to give the extra effort I once did. Instead, I'm trying to focus on what I can control. I'm pursuing professional certifications, preparing myself for better opportunities, and trying to seek recommendations and guidance from my senior manager and director to support my professional growth. They are aware that things haven't been going well, and at least my senior manager knows much more about what has actually happened. I'm also planning to have an honest conversation with him.

I genuinely hoped to stay with this company for much longer because the culture I joined was very different from what it has become today.

I know office politics exist everywhere, and I know this won't be the last difficult situation I'll face in my career. I genuinely want to learn how experienced leaders handle situations like these professionally without allowing them to consume them emotionally.

For those of you who have managed teams or led organisations:

• Is there something I could have handled differently?
• How would you deal with a situation like this while still remaining professional?
• How do you protect both your reputation and your mental well-being when you've lost your manager's trust, whether fairly or unfairly?

I'm genuinely open to hearing honest feedback, even if it's difficult to hear. I want to learn and become a better leader from this experience.