Corporate Bondage - Confessions of an Ex-Employee of XYZ

The activity started with an ex-employee narrating the discrepancy in the travel
policies framed for overseas assignment for XYZ Company. The travel policy
initially had no monetary reimbursement against leaving the organization before
the completion of the assignment but later it was changed to reimbursement of
expenditure relating to food, accommodation, travel, CTC of last year, etc
thereby adding up to a huge sum. The ex-employee had a good offer from
another company after his return to India but had to decide against joining the
company because of the policy in place. The subsequent events not only bound
him to the company but also created a non-conducive ambiance resulting in
immense distress for him and his family. The activity helped us visualize the
story from the perspectives of the employer and the employees in relation to the
issues concerning the employment bond which is very much the concept of the
theme.
After narrating the story from the employers perspective, there were a few
questions touched upon in the class. Can companies change policies during the
course of the project? Can companies demand high monetary reimbursement
from employees leaving organization before the completion of the project? The
story narrated before also focused on issues relating to employment bond.
The instructor helped us focus on the issues and the consequences leading to
the breach of contract and their remedies by citing stories of similar nature and
engaging the class in analyzing the same from different perspectives.
The activity could be enacted in a way by having students narrating the story
from different perspectives in an interactive manner thereby reinvigorating the
nitty-gritty of the employment bond issues through excitement, suspense and
optimal task engagement.