HYDERABAD: Are information technology companies in India operating like sweatshops with no real care for the mental well-being of their employees?
Career not progressing as hoped, having to perform tasks below one’s ability, role ambiguity due to lack of useful feedback from supervisors, erratic work schedules and lack of idea on what basis appraisals are done. These are some of the reasons for the occupational stress faced by more than half of the IT employees as per a survey conducted in Hyderabad.
The study, ‘A Comparative Study of Occupational Stress among Employees of It Sector—With Specific Reference to Hyderabad City’, was conducted by Dr K Sunanda, associate professor, Shadan Institute of Management Studies, and published recently in the International Journal of Research in Management, Economics and Commerce.
Although IT employees are often looked upon by many in India as a section of society which has successfully landed one of the best and cosy jobs in the country, IT job is not as pompous as it is often thought of or portrayed to be.
A survey of 1,200 employees, including 434 from two well-known Indian IT consultancy companies, revealed that many IT employees face occupational stress due to a variety of issues faced in the office.
A questionnaire was given to these employees and analysis of the feedback revealed various stress factors that come into play at the workplace as well as in the personal lives of IT employees. It was also found that stress factors in personal life like depression, irritability, trouble in falling asleep, erratic eating habits and suffering aches and pains add to their occupational stress.
A report prepared in 2015 by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) had mentioned that 42.5 per cent of corporate employees in India suffered from depression.
Although IT companies have mechanisms in place for employees to share their concerns, many employees feel that these mechanisms are just namesake in nature and provide no real help. It is the common complaint that the human resource department officials of these companies hear all complaints from employees but seldom take action to redress the grievances.
