IT Life : Path of Roses or Bed of Thorns?

People think and envy IT companies as place full of pleasure and path full of roses. In reality it is a journey of bed full of thorns.

it’s an Andaman Cellular jail like infrastructure which makes people to sit beyond working hours

It is the buildings, painting and infrastructure that makes the rich impression but it’s an Andaman Cellular jail like infrastructure which makes people to sit beyond working hours. Result is health issues – heart trouble, back pain and life like military man for the sake of other country’s service.

How this happens?

IT career moves with numbers in projects.
If it is development/Migration/, no of modules decide the efforts needed.
If it is maintenance/Operations, no of tickets on average per month decide the efforts needed.
Efforts decide the headcount needed.

I started career in IT by 2004 and continue until today. None of my projects in last 12 years had this headcount decided as per real project requirements but by project profit margin expectations for organisation.

What is the result?

1. No KT will be given as per the expectation but work deliverable was extracted to the extreme end.
It’s a routine that onshore coordinator will mostly push work to Offshore and practice idleness which is an ignored and base lined reality. Onshore coordinators build rapport and communicate false promises to impress clients. Since clients are veterans in industry, They get offshore slaves used as per convenience.

2. To address client needs, most resources in 2004 – 2007 days came on all Saturdays for 2 and half years in career.
Stretching late hours by building guilty consciousness thru fake escalations created by onshore coordinators to create artificial deadline pressure.
Promote and encourage people to go late and recognise to stay late in coffee breaks.
We have seen pregnant ladies working late hours and which even led to abortion nightmares to some.
Harassment and emotional verbal abuse were common happenings for all of us. For no reasons, Juniors and freshers can be scolded .
Sick leaves were considered as vacation leaves.

3. Work load. Lack of motivation and health issues. Sleep sacrifice.

Managers used to decide life and appraisal of a person by just one incident

Appraisal based on Working Smart and Acting Smart?

Initially it has been thought that respect will be given to people who work hard and stay late hours. Then, there were mails which say to work smart and leave early and it has been communicated that smart people finish work early with perfection.

In First appraisal cycle, the myth has been broken and shattered.

In my first 2.5 years in project, People of particular mother tongue got promoted, recognised with bias and preference. Onsite opportunities regularly got showered as per their convenience. Associate, SA, APM, PM, SM, DM all are from same mother tongue. What a coincidence? It’s rare. No.

When I’ve seen other projects, same coincidence of language bias occurred like the rarest of rarest scenario like regular ones in industry. Many people used to wonder why these particular people are recognised and hyped about achievements which are not really value additions.

Generally, many managers decided appraisal as per convenience based on personal equations of race, religion, language and in some cases even sex and other biased parameters. Some managers used to decide life and appraisal of a person by just one incident.

These managers are recognised as Best managers.

— a Suffering IT Employee

This is a personal rant of an affected employee. But no one can deny that the overall trend in IT sector is longer and longer working hours, office politics and health issues.

Now, all thinking IT professionals should ponder over this and find out the root cause. What caused all this madness? Is it in the structure of industry itself or it is only some bad apples in some companies?

Share you views.