IT employees in India commonly adapt to the timings of their US-based or European counterparts and end up working for 10–14 hours.
It is common for employees in the IT sector to spend more than eight hours in the office, getting into calls with their colleagues in North America and other countries, as per their convenience or work timings.
This has become a serious challenge for many IT employees in India, who adapt to the timings of their colleagues based out of the US or Europe, and end up working for 10–14 hours. As a consequence, they enjoy little work–life balance.
The Forum for IT Professionals (ForIT), an employee-welfare organisation, has raised its concerns on this issue. It organised an awareness campaign in HITEC City, Hyderabad and interacted with the techies to educate them on their rights.
“We work beyond 10–12 hours, despite the fact that the rules suggest eight-hour work shifts. All of our social and family life is affected causing us to have no work–life balance, and still have no job security,” said Praveen Chandrahas, member-ForIT.
ForIT has demanded that IT companies should adopt the eight-hour shift just as the manufacturing and other industries, and follow employee-friendly practices.