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ShareBanglore: Ninety-three per cent of Bangalore's corporate employees are unhappy, as a recent study by a Bangalore-based health management organisation reflects. It just might be a passing reflection of recession blues.
You hate it, but you can't do without it; no it isn't a celebrity, it is your daily job that is unavoidable -- after all, it brings you that pay check at the end of the month, so you can indulge in retail therapy to forget about that lousy job!
A recent study conducted by PeopleHealth surveyed over 2,000 people from leading IT companies in the city and found that 93% of them were unhappy at the workplace. That's a whopping number!
DNA spoke to HR experts and psychologists to unravel the cause of such unhappiness. Unsurprisingly, the recession seems to be the monster behind the gloom.
"Due to the recession, insecurity levels were very high," says Rajesh AR, vice president, Team Lease, adding that the population that was largely affected fell between 25 and 35 years. Respondents of the survey also fell in this age bracket.
Insecurity led to employees working longer hours in order to keep their jobs secure. "That was to ensure they met KRAs (Key Result Areas) so that they met the set performance level," Rajesh explains. He also points out that working late became a norm, "As companies were clearing, they were also scraping out the bottom 10%."
IT companies were already downsizing and many projects had lesser members on board, hence, employee spirits were further dampened by the fact that they had to work longer hours, even on Saturdays.
Unhappiness came, also from the fact that while employees were working harder and longer, there weren't many incentives. "The last year saw no appraisals and this must have added to the sadness. Employees wondered -- Am I being paid enough for the work I am doing?" says Rajesh.
Recession meant the market did not provide any opportunity and hence, even unhappy employees stuck to their job, working hard. Rajesh says this was also a busy time for them to network, "Many were busy networking, connecting on professional sites like Linkedin, which reflected a certain level of insecurity." Trust levels among peers also dipped during the recession. As every one was saving their own jobs, this developed a sense of loss and loneliness at the workplace.
Unfulfilled work expectations did spill onto the home front, as Mythili Sarma, psychologist mentions, "Unable to take work pressure, employees have been taking work stress home, causing an imbalance at the home front." She says that mostly, employees are caught in a "workaholic mode" which is putting pressure on the family to "deliver where work cannot."
Depression also sets in as the lifestyle does not leave space for communication. Sarma says that the key to happiness is, "to demarcate work stress from home life. Also, employees should cherish simple moments spent with family, as these induce positive energy that can be used to get along at work."
