Using an anonymous account because I don't want to use my other account which has part of my name in it. So, for obvious reasons.
I am a software developer, from India. Now before you go bashing us Indian folks for “stealing your jobs”, know this: we are as tired of outsourcing as you. Most of the IT companies are shit and treat their workers like even more shit! We don't mind working for companies that have a presence in other countries and where the work we get is “remote work” and NOT “outsourced work”. By remote, I mean getting work from an American / British / European whatever Project Manager whom we can interact with directly and from whom we get meaningful work instead of grunt work for faceless gigantic companies. This work is 100 times better than getting outsourced work with unclear requirements and frankly inhuman deadlines (“We wanted this yesterday that’s why we gave it to you today to develop! Why are you still not able to deliver?”). Sadly, that is not ALWAYS the case as I have another story to post in the future that shows how even THAT model sometimes fails.
Anyway, I ran off topic there, to get back to what I was saying, I worked for a few months for one of our BIIIIG IT companies in India, Infosys! I'm sure many of you have heard the name. (The founders of this company started it in a 3 bedroom apartment in Bangalore in the early 70s or something like that.)
I worked at Infosys in 2015, about 7 years ago and that too for just a few months, so I can feel safe posting this now. There are so many things I saw there that SIMPLY don't apply to adult software engineers who are job holders and some things even humiliate them.
Well, the first thing I saw is the presence of so called “Software Centres” where the clients of Infosys (Like Microsoft or Apple) will give them “guidelines” on how to set up a “Software Sweat Shop”. It is a huge room with countless cubicles and is guarded by a key card swipe machine. Nobody can enter or exit without swiping the key card, even if they have to go to the bathroom. In addition, to this, the employees who work inside that centre cannot bring in their mobile phones (or cell phones), their bags (mostly college or school style backpacks) or even their lunch boxes or snacks! These must all be left outside! I would frequently walk to my workplace and would see tons of bags piled up outside the entrance to this so called software centre…I mean sweatshop.
One cannot have a quick snack inside the centre even if one has been working all day. And work all day they do! But not taking in their cell phones into the centre, that shocked me! What if there is a family emergency and somebody wants to call them but they can't because their cell phones are outside? These employees frequently work 14-18 hour days every day for the entire week! Because? Deadlines!
And all these restrictions I mentioned in the beginning? Not being able to take in personal items and all, who do you think put that rule? Microsoft did! Now I know that if Microsoft tried to do that in any other country, there would be a hue and cry about it. but not in India, because we have shitty labour laws! And fukin Infosys? They enforce rules to a T! This is not for Microsoft alone. There are other software centres for different companies that do the grunt work for these companies. Basic software tasks not requiring much brains. But the rules are the same. No freedom either!
I have never worked in these kinds of places but I talked to other people who did and they said they had to ask their Manager’s permission to use the restroom! Geez! Are we back in high school? And these were all 30+ years old people.
Now, on to the topic of managers. Managers are not happy with what you do, no matter how good or fast you do it! Some can be downright abusive and threatening. The poor sap who works under them is scared for his job. We have dire poverty in this shitty country and people in IT get a lot more money than people in other jobs. So nobody wants to leave a well-paying job, even if that means checking in their sanity or health at the door! IT people didn’t have unions back then (and even though there are some now, their effectiveness is still doubtful) so nobody could fight on their behalf if they get terminated.
With this threat, people are made to work 14-15 hours a day and sometimes even on weekends. Before joining Infosys, I never worked weekends, no matter how shitty the job or company was, but in Infosys I was “forced” to come in on Saturday and Sunday because…deadlines!
If this isn’t enough to make you, the reader, think that Infosys is a prime candidate for anti-work, I’ve got more.
Did I mention the work locations? They are just glorified college campuses with so called sports rooms and swimming pools. But the thing is, most of the idiotic fuking managers in Infosys work their workers to death and there is no free time for most of them to use these so called facilities to relax. What is the point of so many things to help people relax when they don’t even have time to use them? Young inexperienced software engineers who want to use them can’t because of lack of time, older people who do have time don’t care about them as they want to finish their work and get home to their families. SO yeah, it is just for show. Most people I talked to said they worked 14 hours a day, like it is some sort of a pride symbol.
The HR Department is worse than an administration department of a cheap college/university. When you join the fuking company, the HR asks you to bring all photocopies of your high school / college certificates and even the “experience letters” of previous companies along with their originals. [Note – Experience letters are official letters given by companies to workers leaving them stating in the letter that they have worked there. Yes, these are also outdated in our country and must go! Another reason for having unions for IT workers.]
Why does HR want all these photocopies? So they can “stamp” them saying that they have been verified. Then, these must be scanned and uploaded into the Infosys system! Not doing this will get a warning from HR three times after which you will be sacked. Humiliating? Yes. No other company does this to its employees.
Lastly, their so called transport systems. Their fuking offices are always on the outskirts of cities or far away from where most people live. They have buses that ferry these students to the campus…oops I meant workers to the office. Now, this transport is not free of charge. The deduction for this comes out of your pay check. Makes one very angry. You want me in the office but I have to PAY for YOUR fucking transport? Also note, most workers don’t have cars or even motorcycles or scooters. They depend on this. Other companies, even shitty ones, provide free transport for their workers.
To anyone reading this, if you are considering a job in Infosys, DON’T!
To anyone reading this who is ALREADY a worker in Infosys, GET OUT!