On a weekend getaway to Mahabaleshwar, an interesting conversation happened with Dr Kiran Datar, veteran Delhi academic administrator and an advisor to the National Knowledge Commission. When she was principal of Miranda House in the nineties, she was faced with the problem of young first-year students coming to class in dishevelled clothing and inappropriate jewelry because of some ragging experiences with their seniors. Reluctant to come down with a heavy hand and risk getting students backs up against authority, Dr Datar called a tea meeting with all the resident students of the college and walked into the room dressed in layers of mismatched clothing and garish jewelry. The peals of laughter soon melted into a realization of the key message, and the delinquencies were never repeated.

In todays context, in the IT, and particularly in the BPO industry, many people who have been managers in more traditional sectors are quick to pass judgement on the wild ways of the youth, and jump to the conclusion that this mobile and irreverent workforce cannot be tamed and should either be chastised or tolerated so that the essential work of the organization does not suffer when they arrive in their shifts to work. Are we forgetting that these youngsters in their teens or early twenties are not dissimilar to college students that many of us have in our own families, and will respond to positive stimuli and an attempt to engage in the same way as any of our young family members would?

Ganesh natarajan

The net impact of this us versus them approach to managing very young people in BPOs has often led to a mental detachment, which causes a rebellion against authority, and sometimes even a callous disregard for ones own well-being, in an effort to prove a pointto the organization, the family, society, and indeed even to themselves. While it would be too facile to argue that some of the tragic rape and murder incidents in Bangalore and Pune could have been caused by this internal sense of rebellion, there is no doubt that a more inclusive approach and an effort to empathize with the inner seething of young minds and hearts could mitigate some of the risks associated with stressful shift jobs that are going to continue and expand as the industry realizes its potential of being what many people believe could be the back office of the world.

A recent study by a reputed mental health institution alleges that a significant percentage of young people involved in BPOs suffer from mental trauma and depression, and would have us believe that it is this industry that is causing the breakdown of well-being in thousands of young people. If one peels the onion a little, the questionnaire used to elicit responses, and the conclusions drawn from limited data, would seem to fly in the face of research rigor that is needed before such conclusions are drawn and widely publicized by the scandal hungry news hounds. But the larger point is that unless a climate of participation and mutual trust is created, every piece of wood will be used as a stick to beat the industry.

In Pune, many firms, with support from Nasscom, are planning a BPO celebration week that will showcase both the incredible value the industry has added to the middle class aspirations, and the success of over seven lakh ordinary people in the industry to rise to extraordinary achievements.

It is clearly a time for all of us to set aside our own prejudices and perceptions and walk the floor to engage with our young folks. As IT and BPO sectors grow from 2 mn to 8 mn associates, which the Nasscom-AT Kearney research has shown to be the potential in the next ten years, let there be no child left behind in the journey to success.

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