When 26 year old Anna Sebastian Peraiyil, a chartered accountant working for EY India, succumbed to work stress, it shed light on the prevailing toxic work culture we have in India. Not long ago, Infosys chairman Shri Narayana Murthy went on record saying that Indian youth must be ready to work for 70 hours a week. The founder of Infosys which became the first INdian MNC to be listed in Nasdaq is under fire ever since he made his controversial statement. There can’t be a better time to rethink the work-life balance that is precariously titled so far as careers with Indian corporates are concerned. Anna worked for over 12-15 hours a day including during weekends. She complained of a chest congestion and died within minutes on her way to hospital in an ambulance. Overworked and underpaid being the destiny of hundreds of thousands of young men and women, currently we have the most disillusioned generation in the history of the country who have lost the light in their eyes with early burnout syndrome. We have the younger people opting out of marriage and parenthood and putting material welfare ahead of personal life. Work stress and nonstop chasing of deadlines have driven the IT engineers especially towards dope culture which is an open secret. Social and economic development at what cost? Ambitious young Indians are dropping dead like never before to heart attack and cardiac arrest thanks to the toxic work culture that is the prevailing norm. We have PG medical interns and IITians committing suicide unable to cope up with burgeoning stress. It is time to streamline not only the corporate work culture in India but also take a second look at the grueling routine of interns and freshers in other fields of employment, with effective government policies put in place.
Work stress takes it toll.
vijiravindran's 