[400notout]

The tragedy here is painful but rather unsurprising. From what I've read about this particular case it seems that these firms have more "negativity" in the air.

Overworking and exploitation are core of any labour's driven Indian company irrespective of domain. When you make money off a person's service, extracting the maximum productivity in the same cost is usually every management's motto. We are a poor country and exploitation is easy. In this particular case I'm surprised that a brilliant student and CA would fall victim to such an environment.

In my industry, working long hours due to delivery is a given. My personal record is not going home for 7 days straight, my supervisor didn't go home for 20 days. My team had to stay back in stretches of 3 to 4 days. Urgent deliveries for high profile clients means there's no way out of this. People who performed in these periods were rewarded with a bonus. We were all sleep deprived during the project as 2 to 4 hrs was all we could manage. This particular project was extreme but generally any project nearing deadline gets us to a 24/7 working zone.

Now I feel that there are few factors very important in such a work culture. First is financial growth, that is getting good appraisals in lieu of contribution. Second is employee consent, people should be driven by passion and intent and not by pressure or threats.

In my organization I do feel for the juniors. Though they are not misbehaved with, they work much longer hours compared to their payscale. It's not back breaking work but requires time and involvement nevertheless. The only decent thing is we keep the environment light and try to have most fun while doing our tasks. Humor helps.

During my younger days I have never worked in such an environment. This was the least of my concern when I was running my own company in the initial days, but I did end up losing a lot of investor money. Which is one reason I side with my present company's management as atleast they run a business providing livelihood to 500 odd people.

Now on the other hand my brother has been working as a network and software engineer since the past 20 years. He has made much much more money than I have but I have never seen him working odd hours or weekends. He never took up a managerial position but as an engineer I have never seen him stressed about his job. But 15 years of his senior work experience did come from American MNCs.

In today's competitive world with ever evolving technologies, managing work-life has become tougher. If you are working in a company which has been founded by a go-getter, his/her culture will drop down and there will be similar expectations from all employees to be most productive with minimal resource usage. In larger system operated corporations (typically MNCs or listed Indian companies or Govt offices) work load is as per available resource, which makes managing easier. There are no "urgent" deliveries, clients don't boss you around, you don't have to squeeze your resources dry.

India is known for cheap and skilled labor. Don't expect labour's laws to come to your aid ever. The best you can do is identify what value you bring and work accordingly but for newbies a good manager is very essential to survive this low-pay-high-demand situation.

[Slipstream11]

Unfortunately, that's the situation across industries and verticals. This vicious cycle affects majority of the salaried-class and we yield to it simply because of associated social, peer and family pressures.

Given this mechanical lifestyle where we run like headless chickens Monday to Friday/Saturday - the weekend just isn't enough to recouperate. The sheer exhaustion takes over and even the very idea of pursuing a beloved hobby seems like a task. To top that off, there are chores which we end up parking for the weekend, errands to run and family to give time to.

Amidst all these commitments, the weekend flies by and even before one realises it's Monday morning and you are back to the grind.

I personally hate my job - not because of the work that I do or because of my employer - I feel I am completely burnt out. I dream of moving to the mountains and adopt slow living - wishful thinking I'd say!!

I wish there was an easy way out of this.

[Utopian]

RIP the poor soul who succumbed to the pressure. There is no way to describe the agony and the pain the family must be going through.

Considering how cheap and easily available labor is in India, there would always be individual who would up the ante in giving all waking hours to the organization, thus raising the expectations of being available for others. Unfortunately, I also did the same for a large part of my 11+ years of professional tenure and learnt the right things the hard way.

There are two things which I feel are critical:
1. Learn when to move out: expectation of some roles/organizations/managers are sometimes always irrational. At this point it is critical that you explain your pov and learn to say adios when things stay the same/become even worse. Nothing scores above your mental/physical health.
2. Learn how to manager yourself better: Look at ways to managed your life better: yoga + meditation has helped me tremendously to come out from one of the most difficult phases of my life. Find a group/organization (in-person mode) preferred.

I also recently took step1 and called it a day from my last organization where I had spent 8+ years. I am still not sure how future would turn out but I am hopeful that something good would be in store.

[humyum]

To be honest India is a country which takes pride in such culture.

People like Narayan Murthy and Bhavesh Agarwal (Ola) openly say it. If I were the government, I would start looking at their employee reviews on Glassdoor type platforms and start penalising these company the second I hear their head honcho's talking nonsense like this, but India is a country of festivals and elections, in the middle if you find time, ministers work.

Life here is valued cheap, considered cheap and there is no accountability.

One look at Ola's working culture on Glassdoor and you know that his nonsense filters down to the ground too.

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Reviews/...0,3_KH4,17.htm

Better to find a smaller place which matches your idea of work culture than go with these big companies

[DudeWithaFiat]

Originally Posted by anay3000

I am a software developer. I like to believe that I am pretty good at what I do. I do not earn as much as the median salary package is....

Friends ask me why I do not switch to other organizations and get a better salary. My answer is always:
. I am glad to have turned down offers from Amazon, Infosys, and many other MNCs. I am fine here in my little cozy corner, Maybe I will not be able to afford the multi crore flat in the city, I am comfortable travelling a few hours to and from work. Maybe I cannot buy a new luxury car, a used one or a new non luxury car will do. My sanity and calm are what I work for.

Happy to hear that you don't want to part of the RAT race, but just keep in mind that not ALL companies will want you to work 24/7. There are several 'very good' reputed product companies paying very good salary and will also ensure you have a healthy work-life balance. Just do not think that you have to compromise on salary on other luxuries because there are companies that offer great work culture with good pay. If ever you want to 'up' your lifestyle, do not think you will have to compromise on peace of mind.

Personally, I would avoid working for any service-based companies since the in 99% of cases the WLF would go for a toss. I`ve been lucky that in my last 17 years of career, only for a few months I had to slog at a company with no life after work, rest of my years, I worked with great people who are really, I mean really really good at what they do.

[UP!!!!]

RIP to the poor soul.

Work culture is toxic in most organizations within the IT sector in India. I only realized this after moving to Europe for work. I could never have imagined leaving the office at 4 PM and having the entire evening at my disposal to spend time with family.

When I used to work at an MNC in Pune, there were months when my wife and I couldn’t see each other on weekdays despite living in the same house. I would come back from the office after midnight, by which time she would have already gone to bed. I slept until 9 AM, while she would leave for the office at 7 AM. This continued for months, and I eventually had to change my job. After leaving that company, things got so bad during the COVID WFH situation that the company installed software on employees’ laptops to track whether they were actively working.

On a positive note, there were still a few organizations where the toxic culture hadn’t reached yet. I worked for a UK bank in Pune for about two years between 2018 and 2020. Their work culture was amazing, and one could easily maintain a decent work-life balance. I’m not sure how things are now.

[Newtown]

Having worked across different geographies, to me, there is just ONE reason that such incidents happen and will continue to do so. It is the fear of saying NO, mostly to those elder than us. We are not culturally designed to say that easily.

Also let us acknowledge that senior folk in many organizations have 'Diplomatic Immunity' for the lack of a better term. That is not to say that the organization does not have processes in place for such events. They certainly do. But it is how the organization deems fit to utilize those processes is what varies. As a result, consequences will be borne by the trainee/junior associate (for that matter even other senior executives) and not by the manager.

This could come across as contentious to some, but I am telling it like it is as I have seen this pan out to someone in my immediate family.

[srini1785]

RIP to the poor soul.

I'm bit surprised that no one has bought this up.

NARAYANA MURTHY AND HIS PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nara...uctive-4865828

I wonder what he will say now?.

[DDIS_RE650]

Originally Posted by srini1785

RIP to the poor soul.

I'm bit surprised that no one has bought this up.

NARAYANA MURTHY AND HIS PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nara...uctive-4865828

I wonder what he will say now?.

NRN has no respect left post his retirement. Both husband and wife are doing PR. I worked in Infy and Wipro for almost 10 years and I can say that both the Orgs exploit their workforce. They track ODC hours but never bother to compensate if an employee working through weekend, Diwali, new year or any public holidays. Wipro does a project at 40% less cost what other big orgs quote. They try to manage with lesser number of resources and misuse the B1 Visa.
I am victim of Infy work-pressure in 2008 where I collapsed in building 39 of Bangalore office. They took me to their in-house clinic and gave oxygen but did not bother to arrange drop to my residence.
I was so scared to sit in a conference room almost for 1 month.
Did I change? No, once again I started the same non-stop work. Once I moved to true MNC in 2020, I realized that I have wasted 10 years of prime youth to these two orgs.

[shankar.balan]

There is a concept called ‘Modern Slavery’ and a document which states that the company does not practise nor support it.
This is a declaration which companies have to adhere to especially when they are serving foreign companies.
Practicing, indulging in or even condoning Modern Slavery is tantamount to a serious Human Rights violation.
The same way there is a heavy punitive penalty under GDPR for Privacy breach, there should be a similar penalty for Modern Slavery.
The moment there is an enforced deterrent of this nature, all these companies will sit up and take notice.
Its been long said that if a law or stricture is to be adhered to in India it will only work if enforced with the ‘danda’. This is true not only in the case of government, bureaucracy, the general public but also the private, corporate sector.

[acedriver_9000]

One of my friends work for Microsoft & other for Amazon as SDE's. They too always complain about huge work pressure. Recently Amazon friend moved to USA and he says situation is quite different there. Like good work-life balance etc. Here in India employees are not treated well because of over-competition & prestige and pride we hold for foreign MNCs. Resources are easily replaceable and there are n-number of candidates applying for a single job. Their CTC figures also look very funny to me. Stark difference between actual pay & quoted figure.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

There is a concept called ‘Modern Slavery’ and a document which states that the company does not practise nor support it.
This is a declaration which companies have to adhere to especially when they are serving foreign companies.

Won't this instantly disqualify MBB and the Big4 from all the contracts? All their consultants are modern slaves with 5 star benefits.

Originally Posted by srini1785

I'm bit surprised that no one has bought this up.

NARAYANA MURTHY AND HIS PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS [/url]

I wonder what he will say now?.

I don't think anyone in IT industry looks to him for advice these days. I had talked about the ineffectiveness of working mindlessly when we discussed him last.

[NiInJa]

Audit firms, Banks have the most toxic culture when it comes to 'white collar' jobs. I have some very close friends working in these and they will happily vouch for it. The mother of this young employee has given detailed sequence of events on how she was pushed to the limits. I will not say that the company itself is to blame. Her manager and leads are responsible, it could have been EY or any other company, big or small.

I feel freshers should stand up for themselves and confront people if they are taking advantage of you.

One thing that I've experienced at the start of my career is, if you are an introvert (which I am) and you have difficulty saying 'No' to someone, and, if you are good at your work, people will take advantage of it and will start making you feel guilty if you don't behave the way they want you to.
It took a good 3-4 years for me to become a hardened guy who can give it back to people if needed.

Short story of mine, might be inspirational.
I worked in such a toxic environment for the first 3 years of my career. I worked almost 12 hours a day with maximum stress levels, no rewards, no appreciation for what I did at work. Just one day I wanted to go early has my brother had bought a new house and I wanted to be present for the 'vaastu-shanti'. My manager refused, its not like the work was high priority, but he was literally controlling my moves. I lost it that day and simply walked out with the 'jo karna hai kar' attitude. I came back to office next day, as expected, no action was taken. I was too valuable for him to kick me out. Absolutely nothing happened, it was business as usual. Anyway, I started looking out for a job and got one in the big 4s.
On the flip side, working with this Big4 firm turned out to be the best experience I ever had.

I was fortunate enough to work under the best leadership and managers. We worked hard, yes, but we never felt stressed or burnt out. I feel people need to understand the difference between the two.

[myavu]

I don't understand why people are blaming B4s only. Most of the entities are like this only. The first lesson the youngsters should learn is to say no. You should say a big no to anything (professional or personal) that harms your peace of mind and comfort. Also, if things are not going well, one has the right to quit immediately.

In my opinion, there is no point in blaming the organization when we didn't do our part to eliminate the circumstances in the first place.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

A 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young, Pune has passed away due to what her mother claims was "work stress." She had started working at the firm just four months ago. Anna Sebastian Perayil, a Chartered Accountant from Kerala, passed away after being overloaded with work. Her mother, Anita Augustine, has sent an email to the company's India boss, Rajiv Memani, criticizing the firm for promoting excessive work and pointing out the gap between the company’s stated human rights values and her daughter's experience.

Perayil passed her CA exams in 2023 and started working at EY Pune as an executive in March 2024. It was her first job, and she worked hard to meet expectations. However, this took a serious toll on her health. Her mother said she started facing anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress soon after starting but kept pushing herself, thinking hard work and perseverance would lead to success.

Source

Very sad news indeed. My heartfelt condolences to the family.

I guess we as Indians need to learn an art of saying NO. We keep saying yes to all things in our corporate life fearing for our manager, our job, etc. Our management also listen and agrees to whatever client says when it is not practically possible. I have been victim of such corporate torture in my corporate life. But now after my healthy experience, I have learned to say No on face to anyone, be it my manager or client. I only work very late or on weekends only if it is very critical. Also I have stopped taking any stress related to work on day to day basis. Once I close my laptop, I stop thinking about work. One thing always remember - Companies will always keep running, with you or without you. So your personal life and family, friends are much more important than anything else.