Techie left baffled after new hire's first chat with senior employee takes a wild turn

A techie recounted how a new employee asked a senior colleague about outing budgets and appraisal figures during their first conversation. The exchange triggered a wider discussion on workplace etiquette and personal boundaries.Techie left baffled after new hire’s first chat with senior employee takes a wild turn (Photo: Representational Image from Pexels)A techie was left stunned when a new employee's first conversation with a senior colleague quickly turned into questions about the team's outing budget and his appraisal rate.X user Ojas Sharma shared the incident on X, recounting an interaction he witnessed when several new employees joined his company and spent the day getting acquainted with their teams and managers.One of the new employees began speaking to his teammates about the company's tech stack. Ojas was also standing nearby and introduced himself during the conversation.Things took an unexpectedly personal turn when the new employee asked a senior colleague he had met only minutes earlier whether their project had enough budget for an outing. The questions then moved from team expenses to salary-related territory. The newcomer then asked the senior about his appraisal rate, to which the senior replied that it was in the double digits.Not satisfied with the answer, the new employee then asked him to reveal the exact figure. The senior, apparently frustrated by the question, responded by asking whether he should show the newcomer his paycheck.Ojas said he was left “in absolute shock” by the exchange, adding that some questions simply were not appropriate to ask someone during a first meeting.Take a look at the post here:The post led to a discussion about workplace etiquette and whether the incident was simply an example of a newcomer being too curious.One user joked that the new employee must have had “internal connections” at the company to be asking such questions so confidently.Another said the reaction would depend on the employee's experience. If the person was a fresher, they felt the behaviour could be overlooked and corrected by guiding them on workplace etiquette. If the employee was experienced, however, they said they would prefer to keep their distance.A third user took a different view, suggesting that the criticism of younger employees was somewhat excessive and pointing out that such behaviour could simply come from someone who was very young and unfamiliar with workplace boundaries.- EndsPublished By: Yashna TalwarPublished On: Aug 18, 2026 20:41 IST