Toxic work culture before day 1 - Anonymous Tech Defence Labs Employee Review

The work culture is deeply problematic, primarily driven by a lack of basic human decency and professional ethics at the HR leadership level. After I formally accepted an offer, a sudden family bereavement required me to perform last rites, and I requested a brief 3-day extension to my joining date. Instead of a professional or empathetic response, the Head of HR met my request with aggressive guilt-tripping, questioning my commitment and applying transactional pressure during a time of personal grief. Most concerningly, when I challenged this behavior and withdrew my candidacy, the Head of HR attempted to gaslight the situation by deleting her unprofessional WhatsApp messages to 'scrub' the record of her conduct. This level of toxicity from a department head is a massive red flag. Prospective employees should be aware that the rigid 6-day work week and high-pressure environment come with zero support for personal emergencies or employee well-being. Her exact response to my ask for family bereavement was "won't be able to extend the date of joining" and "now that the offer letter is shared, you're asking for a delayed joining?" No sorry for your loss nothing.