Life in IT.....

I am writing this post coz I hear several folktales about our industry and it doesn’t seem like anything better is happening around..

As per the assumption, IT industry is the place where people can draw high salary and people need not sweat nor work in the cramped places. I totally agree that generally we are made to work in well furnished and plush AC environment with spacious cubicles.. Yet most of the employees feel that the this industry is exploiting them..
Its true that the IT boom in India bought a lot of positive changes in India.. We could say that India is a fast developing country due to the rapid changes.. Today, most of them aim to work for a MNC and not an Indian company, which is an unpatriotic thing to say!! But everything that matter to the young Indians is salary and work environment.. Indian companies never match the MNC salary, though the salary is fair enough to fulfill the requirements of a family.

Today, the IT work culture in India is totally messed up.. People are working for 12+hr a day which is more like a rule than an exception!! The consequences of this are majority of us (IT people) have bad health, high stress levels, less social life and huge debts..
Though the majority of the workforce is formed by youngsters and might not have health issues presently, they are sure to face it when they reach 35 to 40+.. Hardly the IT people have time to mingle with their families as they feel that office is their new found asylum. Buying things which are charged heavily though they know that its not worth!! People go to malls to buy the monthly ration though they get it in other stationary shops as well!! Sounds ridiculous!!
Its true that the IT people are making more than their parents did at the age of 22... Most of them are well aware of this, so they work for unreasonable time and get unreasonable money.
People should understand that heavy package, plush offices and latest technology at home are not all that a person wants in life… There is lot more than the materialistic needs!! Being occupied in acquiring all these, people have almost forgotten/ missed out to enjoy their life.. I guess people have to realize what they planned about their future when they were in their schooldays..

I guess the Darwin’s theory – “The survival of fittest” is the “The guru mantra” of all the companies in India.. and that’s the reason why company pressurizes its employees to make their day and night as one! and the key to get projects flowing in is, wrong estimation!! If the optimal time for a project to complete is 6 months with 10 resources, the companies bid for 3 months with 6 resources and get projects!! That’s not all……… And the team which will work on that project will be told as “this is a critical project with strict deadlines”… I pity on that team which would be forced to show their productivity and get bashed up for 3 months with no comp offs and leaves!! Many times I see that after completing such “critical project”, people love to come on bench and relax before getting into another such hyped project….
At the end of the year, the company boasts about the profits made and proudly says, “we were successfully able to execute this project with minimal time and good quality” and acknowledging the resources who are almost close to almighty while completing that project!
I doubt if there is anyone who hasn’t worked on “critical project”… In my case, I have worked on 3 such projects in just 2 yrs!! I remember the lines of an article which I read recently which metaphorically said about the unreasonable timelines…. “If given 9 months and one wife, we can expect a lovely baby………. But the company expects for 9 wives and 1 month’s time to deliver a baby which is impractical” This simply explains the idiosyncrasy of person who bid for such a project!!
When I discuss with my colleagues, they generally say, “we are not happy for many reasons but it’s the same in all the companies.. and this is what IT Industry is!!” I don’t understand how to convince people to- be the change; rather than expecting things to change.. That’s the reason I never compliment someone is who spends/works for 13+ hrs a day and 7 days a week @office!! Coz it might simply kill the morale of the employee who works for 8 hrs and completes his work in that span of time.. When the company boasts about the employee welfare, people should understand that it’s not only about getting salary…. its something else also.. The approach in which we are working, will keep us as only the offshore outsourcing/service-oriented company rather than a technology leader or a product based company…. Let’s not emerge as a “low cost labor” country!!

I am not imposing people to quit this industry and plan for other… Every industry has its pros and cons…. So, quitting the job is not the solution… Its high time, people should think about why they opted this industry over others… Was it for a career or just a job or slavery?!! That’s something to think about :)