IT CEOs: Stress level in IT industry no different
Captains
of IT industry are guarded in their response to anecdotal evidence of a
spike in reported cases of depression among workers in the sector.
BANGALORE/ NEW DELHI: Captains of IT industry are guarded in their response to anecdotal evidence of a spike in reported cases of depression
among workers in the sector, as reported by ET last week. Even as they
emphasised the need to be sensitive to the welfare of their 3-million
workforce, especially when the industry was facing headwinds, the
general feeling was that stress levels in IT companies were similar to those in other sectors, but drew greater attention because of the sector's growth, status and affluence.
"I doubt, statistically, if stress-related cases from IT are any more than other sectors, unless there is data to prove otherwise," says Jerry Rao, entrepreneur, and founder of software firm MphasiS. "Every industry goes through these times, especially when there is consolidation of growth. We get worked up whenever there is any economic uncertainty."
According to Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, executive co-chairman of Infosys, today, every industry faces competitive pressures, and expectations of faster career advances add to this pressure. "These are somewhat unique to the IT industry since this is the first truly 21st century global industry that we have in India," says Gopalakrishnan, who is also the president of CII.
In its edition dated April 25, ET had reported that the percentage of IT workers visiting NIMHANS Bangalore, one of India's largest psychiatric and counselling centres, was on course to increase from about one-third two years ago to half. "Earlier, when the sector was booming, IT executives suffered stress," P Satish Chandra, director, NIMHANS, told ET. "But they are showing signs of depression now."
It might also be because IT workers are more open to the idea of seeking medical help, feels Krishnakumar Natarajan, chairman of Nasscom, the leading IT industry grouping. "They have global exposure and disposable income. So, they take professional help when they need," says Natarajan, who is also the MD and CEO of MindTree. "For example, if you do a survey of gyms in Bangalore, a large chunk of people will be from the IT sector. This does not mean only employees of this sector are interested in their physical health. It means they have a higher disposable income to go to gyms."
Depression is an issue across society, but is seen in IT because the industry is so output-driven, argues Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education and a former Infosys board member. "It is probably the most focused sector, where individuals are driven and face peer pressure. There are so many of them in the same spot and that is why it gets highlighted." Nasscom forecasts show the industry will hire 50,000 fewer people in 2013-14 compared with last year because of a tepid global economy. "Engineering students might feel stressed if they don't get job offers," says Raman Roy, CMD of Quatrro BPO.
Those employed could also face a squeeze if companies recalibrate costs to a scenario of lower growth and an emerging model that seeks greater creativity and productivity from workers. Salary is the main cost head for the $110-billion industry, and any cost-cutting tends to start with employees, most of whom are below the age of 40 and have significant loan repayment liabilities.
Another concern relates to initial signs of overseas clients wanting to create more jobs in home countries, rather than shipping the work to India. Recently, the request for proposal (RFP) of a large US-based bank sought that 90% of the jobs be created in America.
However, Roy doesn't think "it's a 2008 type of situation" — the last time the world economy contracted and IT faced a severe squeeze — as yet. "We are crying wolf too soon if we say the current situation is leading to stress," he says, adding that companies in the business process outsourcing sector are facing a shortage of people, typified by the high attrition rates.
That said, almost all leaders said both companies and employees needed to be proactive to manage stress at work. "Since technology allows us to be always connected, we need to learn to manage our personal time better and separate it from our professional lives," says Gopalakrishnan, adding that his company had introduced some stress-management programmes.
"It is important people take centre stage in all our debates as they are a lot more important than GDP growth rates and quarterly results," said Vineet Nayar, vice-chairman & joint MD, HCL Technologies.
"I doubt, statistically, if stress-related cases from IT are any more than other sectors, unless there is data to prove otherwise," says Jerry Rao, entrepreneur, and founder of software firm MphasiS. "Every industry goes through these times, especially when there is consolidation of growth. We get worked up whenever there is any economic uncertainty."
According to Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, executive co-chairman of Infosys, today, every industry faces competitive pressures, and expectations of faster career advances add to this pressure. "These are somewhat unique to the IT industry since this is the first truly 21st century global industry that we have in India," says Gopalakrishnan, who is also the president of CII.
In its edition dated April 25, ET had reported that the percentage of IT workers visiting NIMHANS Bangalore, one of India's largest psychiatric and counselling centres, was on course to increase from about one-third two years ago to half. "Earlier, when the sector was booming, IT executives suffered stress," P Satish Chandra, director, NIMHANS, told ET. "But they are showing signs of depression now."
It might also be because IT workers are more open to the idea of seeking medical help, feels Krishnakumar Natarajan, chairman of Nasscom, the leading IT industry grouping. "They have global exposure and disposable income. So, they take professional help when they need," says Natarajan, who is also the MD and CEO of MindTree. "For example, if you do a survey of gyms in Bangalore, a large chunk of people will be from the IT sector. This does not mean only employees of this sector are interested in their physical health. It means they have a higher disposable income to go to gyms."
Depression is an issue across society, but is seen in IT because the industry is so output-driven, argues Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education and a former Infosys board member. "It is probably the most focused sector, where individuals are driven and face peer pressure. There are so many of them in the same spot and that is why it gets highlighted." Nasscom forecasts show the industry will hire 50,000 fewer people in 2013-14 compared with last year because of a tepid global economy. "Engineering students might feel stressed if they don't get job offers," says Raman Roy, CMD of Quatrro BPO.
Those employed could also face a squeeze if companies recalibrate costs to a scenario of lower growth and an emerging model that seeks greater creativity and productivity from workers. Salary is the main cost head for the $110-billion industry, and any cost-cutting tends to start with employees, most of whom are below the age of 40 and have significant loan repayment liabilities.
Another concern relates to initial signs of overseas clients wanting to create more jobs in home countries, rather than shipping the work to India. Recently, the request for proposal (RFP) of a large US-based bank sought that 90% of the jobs be created in America.
However, Roy doesn't think "it's a 2008 type of situation" — the last time the world economy contracted and IT faced a severe squeeze — as yet. "We are crying wolf too soon if we say the current situation is leading to stress," he says, adding that companies in the business process outsourcing sector are facing a shortage of people, typified by the high attrition rates.
That said, almost all leaders said both companies and employees needed to be proactive to manage stress at work. "Since technology allows us to be always connected, we need to learn to manage our personal time better and separate it from our professional lives," says Gopalakrishnan, adding that his company had introduced some stress-management programmes.
"It is important people take centre stage in all our debates as they are a lot more important than GDP growth rates and quarterly results," said Vineet Nayar, vice-chairman & joint MD, HCL Technologies.
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