The man claimed that despite handling responsibilities beyond his designation, his compensation did not reflect the work he was doing. A Bengaluru man has gone viral after announcing that he quit his corporate job without another offer in hand, saying years of heavy workload, a modest salary hike and mounting stress had taken a toll on his mental health.Paul joked that the stress eventually pushed him to seek professional help. (Instagram/@officialhumansofbombay)In a video shared by Humans of Bombay, Pramod Paul said, "You see the glow on my face? The day has come. I am resigning. No job offers in hand, no backup plans, nothing."He claimed that despite handling responsibilities beyond his designation, his compensation did not reflect the work he was doing. "After working day in and day out, the line between day and night was blurred. At this point, I've been given the work of a senior analyst, the position of an analyst, and the salary of an intern," he said in the video."So much anxiety, depression, all for what? 6% hike? 6%! Effective ₹2,600 per month," he added, referring to the increase in his monthly salary.Paul joked that the stress eventually pushed him to seek professional help. "After so much anxiety, I went and saw a psychiatrist. That consultation fee was ₹2,000. She referred me to stress management therapy. That was ₹3,000 per session. If the therapy session cost is more than your annual hike, then you're definitely cooked," he said.'Stuck with peanut salary'According to Humans of Bombay, Paul grew up in Kolar, near Bengaluru, in a family burdened by debt. "My reality was shaped by my family's sacrifices. Dad was a pastor and Mom a homemaker, so they had to take out heavy loans to educate my brother and me, and the weight of that responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders," he said.Paul shared that after graduation, he took on financial responsibilities and started working as a "wealth manager". He said that during that time he also took an ₹8 lakh loan to help clear his family's debts.He later joined a major financial firm, where he worked for nearly 4 years. However, he said that after a corporate acquisition, management changed, promotions became scarce and workloads increased. "For nearly four years, I gave it everything. But after a corporate acquisition, management changed, the greed grew, and the promotions dried up," Paul said."I watched local tea vendors make ₹2 lakhs a month while I was stuck with a salary that was basically peanuts," he added.From corporate life to content creationTo cope with the pressure, Paul said that he turned to content creation, posting videos about corporate life and everyday struggles. "I began joking about the corporate grind and filming videos with my mom. As my videos blew up, I gained around 100K followers," he shared, adding that content creation helped him keep afloat, financially and mentally.However, he said that at the same time, his work pressure increased day by day. "At one point, I was doing the full workload of a senior analyst, yet during appraisals, I was given a bare ₹2,000 hike. That's when I knew I had to quit," he said.Paul said his last working day is August 15 and acknowledged that he has no clear plan ahead. "I still have ₹3 lakhs of that loan left to clear. If you ask me what my exact plan is now, I'll be honest: I am completely lost. But until I figure it out, I am choosing the uncertainty of my talent over the certainty of corporate exploitation," he said.Bhavya Sukheja is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 6 years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in covering stories that reflect everyday human experiences, with a focus on viral videos, social media trends, and human-interest features that inform readers while sparking meaningful conversations. She loves chasing page views and finding stories that tug at readers’ heartstrings.