IBM India gives double-digit salary hikes

BANGALORE: Over 100,000 employees at the Indian operations of technology services company IBM received better-than-expected salary hikes this year, in stark contrast to the single digit raises at Indian IT firms.

At least three IBM employees told that the raises were in the range of 10-25% depending on the employee's seniority level and the business unit they belong to.

Over the past three months, top Indian IT firms offered meagre wage hikes, mostly in the range of 5 to 10 %. Country's No 1 IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services, gave around 8 to 10 % to its employees based in India while HCL Technologies awarded around 8%.

"It's been a good year," a senior manager based in IBMs Bangalore office said, referring to company's overall performance during the year under review.

IBM India, with Rs15,413 crore in revenues according to Cybermedia Research, did better than last year when it gave out single digit pay raises. The US multi-national does not disclose its India headcount.

An employee who has been with IBM's Global Business Services unit for over 4 years said that most of his colleagues got raises in the range of 7 to 15%. GBS, which accounts for 20% of IBM's revenue globally, provides services such as management consulting, application management and system integration.

"Hikes in general have been good. Last year, those who were on the top recieved around 12 percent but this year even those who are lesser than the best got good raises," an employee said on conditions of anonymity.

During its fourth quarter earnings in April, No 2 IT firm Infosys had announced that it would not offer any salary increments this year as the management's visibility on near term growth was limited. Last month, Infosys lowered its dollar revenue growth forecast for the year to March to 5%, down from 8-10% it had projected three months before that. The company had said that it will give out 16,000 promotions this year, as against 18,000 last year.

Hyderabad-based Mahindra Satyam, which offered 8 to 12 percent salary hike last year, has also said that it would go for a tightening on salary hikes this year.

Industry body Nasscom has projected that growth for India's software services sector this year will slow down to between 10% and 14% in dollar terms while the domestic market would grow 13-16 % in rupee terms.

Work in India no more a slog, says global study

NEW DELHI: India is a country of contradictions. This is evident from its score in a global study on corporate work-life balance. According to the study, which shows a worldwide improvement in work-life balance since 2010, India doesn't fare too badly. But it doesn't fare too well either.

The study conducted by Regus, a flexible workplace provider, surveyed over 16,000 professionals in 86 countries. It shows a 24% rise in work-life balance in 2012 as compared to 2010, with more than 60% saying this balance had improved since 2010.

While 69% enjoyed work more than in 2010, 59% were happy with the amount of time they spent with their family. Over two-fifths felt their companies were actively involved in reducing staff commutes, with India ranked No 2 where professionals feel this way. Take the case of a Gurgaon media professional who would commute daily to Noida. His company now allows him to work from home. The biggest improvement in work-life balance, the study found, was for BRIC countries. India tops countries whose professionals say they are achieving more at work now than in 2010.

But India is also high on the list where professionals who had taken on additional work during recession say these duties are yet to be assigned to a new staffer. China and India are the top nations where employees spend more time at work and less with family. in stark contrast to countries like Netherland and Australia.

Indian academician Ashutosh Mishra, who lives in Australia, saw a dramatic improvement in work-life balance ever since he left India. "In India, I worked on Saturdays and received office calls all through the weekend. I was exhausted and had little time for family. In Australia, everyone from the director of my institute to colleagues and friends take family time very seriously," says Mishra. He now spends weekends golfing, taking his kids for a swim and watching movies and rugby matches.

Paritosh Mishra, who worked in the Indian corporate sector for 15 years before shifting to Australia, says that working beyond 5 pm there is seen as a sign of inefficiency.

Madhukar Kamath, CEO and MD, Mudra, says that while every company wishes to achieve this balance, it's not high priority, though a gradual move towards it is being made. It makes sense to do so. "Lack of family time greatly contributes to mental health issues," says B N Gangadhar, professor of psychiatry, Nimhans, Bangalore.

But there is a reason why India had poor work-life balance. R N Sharma, former professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, says it had much to do with the complete dismantling of labour movements in India. "Foot-loose labour, once meant for hawkers, now applies to white-collar workers too. With weakening labour movements, employees don't have bargaining power."

But Chandrajit Banerjee, DG of CII, says India is at a stage in its economy where the work force needs to put in more hours. But many companies, he says, are helping employees achieve a better balance, be it flexible work options or engaging their families.

"As Indians, we love work. We work two Saturdays a month, 48 hours a week. We don't go for holidays every quarter or an outing every weekend," says Dr Gibson Vedamani, former CEO, Retailers' Association of India. This isn't necessarily unhealthy, he says. "In India, we're in touch with home even during work."

Milind Sarwate, group CFO, Marico, says, "If you're working from 9 am-6 pm, it doesn't mean you won't take personal calls or check Facebook." He has a problem with the term work-life balance. "Isn't work a subset of life?'' 

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com