Growing frustration among IT professionals in India!

[amitnsitian]

good to see this thread. let me pen down my thoughts. i am sure i may get some groans for this coz i am going to disagree with some of the so called 'trademarks' of the IT industry.

1. Working late - IMHO, it is in your own hands. in the last two and half years of working in the IT industry, I have always been development projects and the amount of work is always phenomenal with unrealistic deadline, but proper planning has always ensured that i leave on time. though i have left 'late' owing to unavoidable circumstances but i always ensured that it is not taken for granted. one more thing, i would like to add here. people always talk abt the exit time and no one looks at the entry time. if one is walking in at say 11 and then leaving at 8, it is really not a big deal. a person coming in at 9 and leaving at 6 has also put in the same time and possible given more output.

2. Diplomatic talk - i have just one word for it. AVOID and if you are forced to listen; just FORGET

3. Doing shitty work et al - How many times have people walked up to their bosses and voiced their concerns? i know of a person who did not switch on his PC coz management was not listening to him. finally, they had to give in ti his demands. i am not saying that everyone should follow this extreme step but one should voice the inconvience.

[Mahip]

Working Late everyday.....

Some more reasons for this are ->

1. Majority of the junta is bachelor. They stay late to take dinner.
2. Free internet. Finishing work early and then utilising the bandwidth.
3. Emailing/Forwarding mails to your friends.

The world sometime thinks we "work so late" but the reasons can be very different!

[amrutesh666]

Well, couldn’t agree more

It’s been only 5 months since Im in this industry. Im still a “bachcha” out here, but being in a small company, the responsibility given to some of us(freshers in particular) is more(Depends on the project ofcourse). No, by responsibility I don’t mean good quality work. It’s the same old copy-modify-paste mantra with more pressure. So 5 months or 2 yrs, frustrations are the same.




I've got a formula for it



As amitnsitian says..
1. Develop time management.
2. Develop people management.
Once 1 and 2 are done you'll get time to prepare for CAT(and tell me who'll stop you from getting A, B ,C )



I'll tell you how much this formula has worked in the 1st week of Jan

[BUGS BUNNY]

Originally Posted by amitnsitian

if one is walking in at say 11 and then leaving at 8, it is really not a big deal. a person coming in at 9 and leaving at 6 has also put in the same time and possible given more output.

Again not always true cos more often than not you will find employees coming in ontime but leaving late

Originally Posted by Mahip

Some more reasons for this are ->

1. Majority of the junta is bachelor. They stay late to take dinner.
2. Free internet. Finishing work early and then utilising the bandwidth.
3. Emailing/Forwarding mails to your friends.

The world sometime thinks we "work so late" but the reasons can be very different!

I might sound as if I am being horribly tortured or something in my company (which by the way is not true, I do have unrestricted net access as in nothing is blocked )
But Mahip do all companies provide dinner? I gotta eat paranthas at the dhaba downstairs if I stay late.
Using bandwidth - Initially I thought I would work till 6, leave for home as amit said and then surf net from home. But soon I found out that there is absolutely no way I am gonna leave at 6 so might as well do a bit of tp
This topic is totally subjective cos each person's situtation is unique in its own way . So thats it for me on this thread better ways of doing tp (read SB )

-
Bugs

[amitnsitian]

Originally Posted by BUGS BUNNY

Again not always true cos more often than not you will find employees coming in ontime but leaving late

thats what i keep telling ppl. it is OK for some time but some ppl make it a practice. take it from me, if one is able to plan out well, then 9 to 10 hours are good enuf

[Amorphous]

Originally Posted by Mahip

Some more reasons for this are ->

1. Majority of the junta is bachelor. They stay late to take dinner.
2. Free internet. Finishing work early and then utilising the bandwidth.
3. Emailing/Forwarding mails to your friends.

U talk of emailing/forwarding mails, but do u think those 'friends' are there checking the mails at some unearthly hour. And regarding bandwidth, it simply ain't worth it.

amitnsitian's views are apt in this situation. I guess it's in ur control.
I know with the middle class background, most of us didn't have any other choice at placement time, and we were elated with a job offer from the best of the companies. Now that we are in the industry, I think we should make the best out of it. For all we know, we could have been making regular visits to the employment exchange had the IT revolution not happened. Even seemingly mediocre work can be done in the best way to make it look good. And if nothing works, then who's restraining u frm switching to other companies. Every one won't be bang on target the first time. Experimentation is the order of the day.

[neosumit]

Good topic...

Now my thoughts on this as well my personal experience.

My profile :
Total software exp : 4 years.Technology : IBM Mainframes.
Profile : Maintainaince/Enhancement.Minimal support work.

I will break my post into two so that it does not become boring.
I assume that people with MBA working in software firms are getting better work profile and hence this analysis is not intended for them.

Fact : software jobs in our country are the most comfortable and high paying jobs which do not require you to be a 'rocket scientist' of the first grade.

People doing 'core' jobs are lured into the software jobs as they amount of pay is finally the most important thing that most of us think we get from the job.Just have a look at the number of people getting hired in the top 7 IT ciompanies from other fields.

Practically speaking how many of us have the guts to leave our software jobs and take up a job in the industry of our choice.

Unfortunately most of the software firms are located in big cities apart from some cities like Bhubaneshwar.
Look at the amount of rates increase in property, vehicles or even in multiplexes in these cities.
Its becoming difficult by the day to get a decent home in a decent locality if you are not working in good firm with a good amount of salary.
Daily living expenses are getting up everyday.

Also, people who are waiting to tie the nuptial knot: what is the most important thing the parents look for in a person??

How much has he earned...how many times he has been onsite..how much property he owns..how much blah blah blah...

I have been to US and believe me the approach to work of those guys is very different than that of ours.8 hours and that is it.
Besides they have a good set of activity which keeps them busy for the rest of the day.
Reaching office at 6 a.m. and leaving by 3 p.m. gives them ample amount of time to do what they really enjoy.

I am not saying that every Indian comoany gives it's employees that kind of a chance but again it highlights the mindset of the people at the top who never bothered to think on those lines.

We have a great hunger to get the best job, get the best pay package, get the best girl as your wife, get the best boss and get the best company to work with.

Not possible guys.Only one in a 10,000 would have that kind of luck.

Its better to look what you really want in life and then decide what you will do to reach a place where you will be satisfied with life as a whole and not simply with the work you do.

I say again treat your work as a part of your life and not the main crux.
Enjoy time with your family and firends.That would make life bit more easier on your soul.

More follows..

[sourabh_911]

I must be crazy to answer on this point..As far as coming early to ffice is coming...i have seen people coming to office at 8:30 in the morning...what they is what follows:
1.chack mails.
2.Have your breakfast in the office with your friends...something around half an hour to 45 min.
3. Get back to seat and make a few local free calls to friends before others arrive.
4.Have a good loks at the newspaper.

probabaly all these things consume a lot of time.
so for people whho do not actually have work it does not makema difference as to what time they come...
for those coming late ...they hit directly to work after checking soem importatnt mails...
its important...one has to be updated.
I mean to say is "coming late does not mean that one is not working enough or is working less than the ones coming on time....infact he is working more.the effective start time for work is the same...but the one coming late is working more as he has to make up the effective no. of hours worked.
all these things that i am telling is a justification that i am giving ..just because these are the reasons that i give to all those blaming me for coming late...
As for me its not possible for me come office early.
No hard feelings for all those who come to office early.
i am as frustated as u r.

[commander]

This I got as a fwd some time back. Some of u might have read this b4.
It reflects whats happening in IT company so thought of posting it here.

Really a good one.

It's half past 8 in the office

but the lights are still on...

PCs still running,

Coffee machines still buzzing...

and who's at work?

Most of them???

Take a closer look...

All or most specimens are 20-something male species of the human race...

Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...

and why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!!

Any guesses???

Let's ask one of them...

Here's what he says... "What's there 2 do after going home... here we get to

surf, AC, phone, food, coffee ?

thats is why I am working late... importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the scene in most research centres and software companies and other

off-shore offices. Bachelors "time-passing" during late hours in the office

just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do...

Now what r the consequences... read on?

"Working"(for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute

or company culture. With bosses more than eager to provide support to those

"working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course

good feedback,(oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).

They aren't helping things too...

To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!!!

Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.

So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family...

office is no longer a priority, family is... and that's when the problem starts...

because u start having commitments at home too.

For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become a "early

leaver" even if u leave an hour after regulartime... after doing the same

amount of work. People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day

are labeled as work-shirkers...

Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labeled as "not up to it".

All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not

realizing that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never

realize that they wuld have to regret at one point of time .

So what's the moral of the story??

o Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!!

o Never put in extra time " *unless really needed *"

o Don't stay back un-necessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues.

There are hundred other things to do in the evening..

Learn music... Learn a foreign language... try a sport...

TT, cricket.........importantly Get a boy/girl friend take him/her around town...

And for heaven's sake net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time

low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.

Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: "Life's calling, where are you?"

[Plumber]

While these IT guys slog their ar*es off, it's the management guys who have all the fun. This is very unfair; nevertheless I don't mind it.