Alt+ctrl+del to life not an answer

30 per cent of patients that psychiatrists see comprise IT & ITeS employees in Hyderabad

​Hyderabad: Techie Gopalkrishna Guruprasad’s suicide worrying over job security in Pune is a major cause for worry say psychiatrists. In Hyderabad, there are close to 5 lakh employees working in the IT and ITeS sector and a quite a number are depressed. Dr Purnima Nagaraja, consultant psychiatrist, says she gets at least five IT employees every week who suffer from depression.

High expectations coupled with a high-flying lifestyle to which these IT employees are accustomed fail to cope with sudden loss of jobs. Dr P K N Choudhary, psychiatrist, Chetana Hospital says, “This generation is less exposed to frustration and coping skills. The sense of entitlement is wearing them down.”

Adding further, he says, “The youngsters have limited choice to deal with frustration. Also, many IT employees work in different cities and have no family network which adds to the frustration.”

Every year the number of IT professionals seeking the help of psychiatrists is increasing. Today, 30 per cent of the patients that psychiatrists see comprise IT & ITeS employees.

While the glitz and glamour of the IT sector may be good while the going is fine, in times of retrenchment, employees just crumble as they are unable to come to terms with reality and do not want to work for less salary.

Kiran Chandra, founder member, Forum of IT Professionals says, “The employees are in a precarious situation as the State is a mute spectator and has washed its hands off. All state governments have exempted the IT sector from the Industrial Employment Standing Orders and the corporate employees are left at the mercy of markets.”

He adds further, “The way terminations are happening over a phone and an SMS is baffling. This unequal marriage between the employers and the employees has to be corrected and the government should come out with a white paper.”

Raghav, a techie speaking to The Hans India says, “The IT sector is very uncertain today and many go into a state of stress as they are not sure if they would have their jobs the next day.” Ramesh Loganathan, president, Progress Software, however says that 2 per cent to 3 per cent retrenchment is common in the sector but it is becoming visible due to the US visa issues and recent developments.

IT employees though say that getting pink slips even without a warning and even before someone reaches home is becoming a common phenomenon.

Ankita, a software professional says, “When there is so much uncertainty, people are bound be become depressed. Just the thought can drive one mad.”

“Logging out of life is no answer. Young men and women just need to share their problems and the stress levels reduce by 50 per cent says, “Thiagarajan, director SEVA a counselling centre.

Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA) carried out a ‘Candle Light Rally’ at Cyber Towers on Friday and paid homage to the techie Gopalkrishna Guruprasad who committed suicide following depression over IT layoffs.

TITA Global president Sundeep Kumar Makthala condemned the recent incident of forcing a Tech Mahindra employee to resign by the HR over a telephone call and techies must not resort to such extreme steps and there were other alternatives if not IT jobs.