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Business Standard
03-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Age of anxiety: Pressure, long hours, and layoff fears affect employees
A sense of anxiety is in the air. The flood of layoffs at IT major TCS has rattled the industry, and the jitters are spreading beyond the tech sector. Besides the fear of termination, there is a deeper stress — of everyday work — that each employee tackles, with varying degrees of success. There is the stress of deadlines, of meeting targets, of proving oneself, of living up to expectations, of shouldering multiple responsibilities, of multi-tasking… The list is long. At times, this stress reaches a tipping point, resulting in tragedy. Last month, a 52-year-old chief manager at a public sector bank in Pune died by suicide, citing workplace pressure in his note. A year ago, Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old chartered accountant with a Big Four firm's Pune office, died due to heart attack following alleged workplace pressure, triggering outrage and debate over stress and workload in Indian corporates. Her father, Siby Joseph, marked her first death anniversary on July 20 by launching The Anna Sebastian Initiative. The initiative aims to prepare students and young professionals for the realities of the corporate world through online mentoring and guidance. 'She joined work full of hope,' Joseph told Business Standard. 'But we lost her to a toxic work culture. This initiative is our way of ensuring others don't suffer the same fate.' The death sparked political uproar, prompting the Union government to launch a formal inquiry. A growing crisis The problem isn't limited to private firms. Sreenath Induchoodan, senior vice-president, All India Bank Officers' Confederation, said the banking sector is grappling with similar issues. He added that in the last couple of years, they have seen multiple suicides — some at the workplace itself. He pointed to poor manpower planning and the fallout of the government's Enhanced Access and Service Excellence (EASE) reforms, which, he said, had led to frozen recruitment. He said branches are critically understaffed, and officers routinely clock 12-14-hour days. Combine that with humiliating performance reviews and arbitrary transfers, and the pressure becomes unbearable, he added. He maintained that more than 500 bank employees have died by suicide over the last decade. 'These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a crumbling support structure in our public sector banks,' Induchoodan said. Telling numbers A recent study by CIEL HR Services found that nearly 50 per cent of employees in sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), consulting, and accounting work over 50 hours a week — and even more during busy times. 'When we asked them how they would rate their work pressure levels, employees working in these sectors said they are frequently exhausted or burned out,' said Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director and chief executive officer of CIEL HR Services. 'Around 38 per cent of these employees are actively looking for a job change.' Mishra added that while these sectors offer prestige and pay, they are also high-pressure environments where support mechanisms often fall short. 'Burnout has become chronic, not occasional,' he said. Kartik Narayan, CEO-Staffing, TeamLease Services, added that the slowdown the BFSI sector has been experiencing has increased pressure on employees. 'While professional and psychological support systems are available to help individuals cope, the underlying stress levels remain high,' he added. 'Additionally, a growing generational gap within organisations is leading to occasional inter-generational friction.' He was of the view that it's important that both younger and older employees are sensitised to each other's working styles and expectations. 'Managers also need to be equipped to recognise both the capabilities of their teams and the pressures they may be under,' Narayan said. 'Today, with personal lives becoming more complex, a more empathetic and informed approach to workplace dynamics is essential.' Beyond lip service Some companies are beginning to address the issue in a structured way. Pramerica Life Insurance, for instance, has launched a holistic wellness programme called Swasthum, which integrates mental, physical, and emotional well-being. From guided mindfulness and digital detox reminders to access to therapy content and team bonding events, the initiative encourages a culture of sustained well-being. 'Workplace stress is often cumulative,' said Sharad K Sharma, chief human resources officer, Pramerica Life Insurance. 'It builds when we ignore early signs like persistent fatigue, irritability, reduced focus, or disengagement. We encourage employees to be mindful of these signals and to prioritise recovery before stress becomes burnout.' In a fast-paced industry, common stress triggers include continuous deadlines, emotional fatigue from customer-facing roles, or even the challenge of maintaining work-life boundaries in a hybrid world, he said. Sharma also highlighted the company's family first policy, which encourages employees to regularly disconnect from work and spend meaningful time with their families. Managers need to move beyond performance metrics and start tuning into emotional signals, he said. 'Leaders should be equipped to recognise early indicators of stress — be it withdrawal, uncharacteristic behaviour, or disengagement — and respond with empathy rather than judgement.' He acknowledged that building this capability requires more than just formal training; it calls for a mindset shift where well-being conversations become part of everyday leadership. 'The real need is for organisations to empower their people managers to foster psychological safety, where employees feel seen, heard, and supported — not just as professionals, but as people navigating the pressures of work and life,' he said. Recently, Tata Steel rolled out a 'wellness policy' for all employees, encompassing physical, mental, occupational, social, and financial wellness. The company tracks an emotional wellness score as part of its employee engagement metrics. It has also partnered with mental health platform YourDOST to provide counselling services, both online and employee assistance programme, active since 2014, has been extended to include contract workers and their families. Initiatives such as self-approved leave, reduced encashment limits, and sponsored wellness retreats to encourage employees to take breaks and recharge are in place. The self-approved leave approach empowers employees to take leave as and when required without bureaucratic hurdles, a Tata Steel spokesperson said. Despite these efforts, much of corporate India still treats stress as an individual issue, not a systemic one. But the growing number of tragic outcomes suggests that the status quo is no longer sustainable. For real change to occur, companies need to go beyond token wellness days and implement deep, structural changes that prioritise mental health and dignity at work.
Entrepreneur
21-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Non-Voice Roles Take Over Voice Roles in BPM Sector: CIEL Report
About 74 per cent of the total open jobs are roles in non-voice, KPO, and emerging tech; Voice roles are down to 26 per cent. Attrition is the highest in voice-based roles (30-35 per cent), driven by limited career growth and rigid schedules You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. India's business process management (BPM) sector is undergoing a profound transformation, according to the latest research report released by CIEL Works, part of leading HR firm CIEL HR Services. The report highlights a significant evolution in job profiles, geographical distribution, and talent strategies across the industry. The report states that voice-based roles in the BPM sector are steadily declining, now making up just 26 per cent of active job openings. Hiring is increasingly skewed towards non-voice, KPO, and emerging technology roles, which together account for 74 per cent of current opportunities. The emerging tech segment is experiencing exponential growth, with related roles nearly doubling year-over-year. This transition is being driven by rapid digital transformation across sectors like BFSI, healthcare, and retail, which is fuelling demand for BPM services powered by analytics, AI, and automation. This shift in hiring patterns is also reflected in attrition trends across the BPM sector. Voice-based roles are experiencing the highest attrition, ranging from 30–35 per cent, largely due to non-standard shift patterns, rigid schedules, and limited career growth, with average tenures lasting just 8–10 months. These roles are typically filled by younger professionals aged 20–24, who often view them as short-term opportunities. Commenting on the study, Aditya Narayan Mishra, Managing Director and CEO, CIEL HR, said, "India's BPM industry is undergoing its most defining shift in decades, one that is moving the sector from a cost-efficient voice model to a capability-led one. Traditional roles are losing relevance, and the next wave of growth will be led by professionals who continuously invest in upgrading their capabilities. As this sector continues to evolve, organisations that can effectively leverage the expanding talent pools in tier-II cities while adapting to the changing role mix will be best positioned for success." Tier-II Cities Emerge as Strategic Talent Hubs One of the most compelling trends identified in the report is the strategic shift of operations from tier-I to tier-II cities, with Jaipur, Mysuru, and Coimbatore emerging as significant talent hubs. Tier-II cities are steadily gaining market share, particularly in digital-enabled roles. Mysuru has established itself as a prominent center for emerging technologies, positioning itself as a GenAI cluster. Jaipur demonstrates particular strength in voice and non-voice roles, while Coimbatore exhibits balanced capabilities across all categories. Other tier-II cities are also carving out specialised niches. Kochi has surpassed Mysuru in analytics density, while Bhubaneswar is gaining ground in KPO (21 per cent). Despite traction from tier-II cities, Bengaluru continues to maintain leadership in voice, non-voice, and KPO segments, but ceded share in emerging tech to Hyderabad. Gender disparity increases with technical complexity and specialisation, with female representation lowest in emerging tech (23 per cent) and highest in voice (38 per cent). Emerging tech shows the lowest entry-level composition (20 per cent), indicating the specialised nature of these roles and higher experience requirements. Growth forecasts for 2025 show a clear trend toward hiring more experienced professionals across all job profiles, with the highest growth rates in senior and leadership bands. KPO leadership roles (13+ years) show the strongest projected growth (15 per cent), indicating investment in senior professionals.
Hans India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
IT cos set to hire more freshers during FY26
Bengaluru: Indian IT services companies are likely to hire higher number of freshers in FY26 as compared to last fiscal despite macroeconomic uncertainty induced by reciprocal tariff imposed by the US. Industry experts are of the opinion that such uptick is driven more by low hiring in past years than any significant uptick in the demand environment. They also said that offer letters given to the freshers during campus placement should be turned into appointment letters in a specified time frame. 'What has happened that hiring of freshers has seen an uptick because of low hiring in last two years. We also know that giving an offer and converting that into appointment letter are two different things. The situation is very dynamic because clients of IT firms are giving mandate for short-term projects. When long-term projects fall, it directly affects fresher hiring,' said Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO of CIEL HR Services. 'Fresher hiring usually happens taking into account the long-term deal pipeline of an IT firm. It is basically about getting the supply right considering the future. They don't bring revenue immediately,' he added. Last month, management of big and mid-tier IT services companies has indicated that hiring of freshers will continue in FY26 amid an uncertain demand environment. India's largest IT firm, TCS has said that it would hire more number of freshers than it recruited last year. The company hired around 42,000 fresh engineering graduates last fiscal. 'We will hire slightly higher number of freshers (from campuses) in FY26 as compared toFY25. The hiring number each quarter will depend on the demand environment,' said Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer, TCS. Similarly, Infosys is planning to hire more than 20,000 freshers in FY26, while HCLTech is expected to hire around 10,000 engineering graduates from campuses in the current financial year. Among mid-tier firm, L&T Technology Services will recruit around 2,500 freshers in FY26. While many firms have given fresher hiring target for ongoing fiscal, some have not done so on the back of uncertain demand environment. Companies like Wipro, Tech Mahindra have said that they would hire freshers as per the demand environment. Meanwhile, experts opined that undue delay in giving appointment dates should be avoided by all IT firms. Recently, companies like Infosys had fired freshers undergoing training saying that these interns were not able to clear various stages of the training programme. 'Freshers are expected to be good in new technologies because companies have increased the benchmark for final absorption,' said an industry source.
