Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
New Delhi: Sometime in early No-vember, a 21-year-old student at theIndian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur, developed heart-burn and palpitations besides be-ing unable to sleep at night — clas-sic symptoms of depression. Hewasn’t alone. Ahead of place-ments, which start Tuesday at theleading IITs, many students are af-flicted as the stress of landing atop-paying job takes a toll.
By the middle of November, thecampus grapevine and the mediamake much of salaries in excess of.̀ 1 crore being offered to batchmates in pre-placement offers(which precede the final ones).
“Since my parents heard this, theyhave been calling me and checkingon the trend of final placement interms of salaries,” said the final-year student of mechanical engi-neering mentioned above.
The wide disparity between thehighest and lowest salaries offeredto students — as much as .̀ 2 croreincluding stock options to .̀ 8 lakh— is key to what’s emerging as amental health issue for studentsand the schools that are meant tonurture them. Family expecta-tions add to the stress.
“Parents who are not well in-formed do create tremendous pres-sure on students. Students as wellas parents should be level headedand understand that crore-plus sal-aries are offered to only a handfuland not all get this,” said IIT Guwa-hati director Gautam Biswas.
Babu Vishwanathan, placementadvisor at IIT Madras, said manystudents change subjects in pur-suit of higher salaries.
“The hefty packages compelmany students to switch to com-puter science stream as most stu-dents from this department get thehighest compensation packages,”said Vishwanathan.
Dean Sivakumar M Srinivasansaid November is “pressure cook-er” for both students and faculty.
Students who have ranked at thetop throughout their semesters areespecially prone to placement de-pression when they fail to get
picked up on the first or second day.“Even though these students at
the end of placements may securebetter offers as offered by Day 1 and2 companies, these students arehighly stressed out on discoveringthat they do not figure in the earlyslots,” said Shashi Mathur, profes-sor in charge of the training andplacement cell at IIT Delhi.
Getting selected by a top recruiterbecomes critical for many.
“Students link performance totheir personality and identity. Thisturns out disastrous for them. At
least 10% of (IITDelhi) students facean identity crisis,”said IIT Delhi stu-dent counsellor Ru-pa Murghai.
The stress startsduring entrancecoaching and theexam itself, thencontinues with theacademic grindand getting a
worthwhile placement. And, be-cause of the years-long toil, theymiss out on developing some cop-ing skills.
“With the growing competitionand extreme emphasis on ranks,marks and placements, our educa-tion system has transformed intomore of an examination system,”said Shobhana Mittal, consultantpsychiatrist at Cosmos Institute ofMental Health & Behavioural Sci-ences (CIMBS) in New Delhi.
“When there is a mismatch in theexpected and actual pay packages,a lot of distress ensues. Expecta-tions of parents and also students’own expectations at times are veryhigh to live up to.”
As the IIT Bombay student newslet-ter Insight recently said: “The issueof depression is real across the IITs.”
According to an IIT Madras stu-dent counsellor, 75% of all stu-dents who seek help suffer fromclinical depression. “Overwhelm-ing competition at premier insti-tutes often creates discontentamong students who were once thebest of the lot,” he said.
The schools are aware of the mat-ter and are trying to do somethingabout it. But the problem is stu-dents typically don’t want to revealtoo much of their anxieties, said ateacher at IIT Kharagpur.
The IIT tried an unconventionalapproach, switching off the powersupply to the hostels for an hour toforce students to attend a grouptherapy session.
“Pep talks and motivational talksare frowned about at IITs — studentsare shy of coming out in the open,”said the IIT Kharagpur teacher.
A more nurturing environment isessential to help them.
“In the two rigorous years that akid spends preparing for IIT-JEE,he/she tends to lose touch withhis/her emotional side,” said anIIT Bombay counsellor. “Havingtenderness around the campuscould help change that.”
Wide disparity between the highest and lowest salaries offered to students and high family expectations are creating stress among IIT students
10�THE ECONOMIC TIMES | MUMBAI | TUESDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2015Career & Business Life
WAYS TO
Not everyone has the luxury of having a large workstation. For those who work in open-plan offices and have smaller desks, keeping the workspace clean is not only basic courtesy towards co-workers but also a must to avoid clutter. Brinda Dasgupta talks to experts to bring you tips on how to keep your workspace organised.
Undertake Regular Audits
2
To keep a regular check on your workplace cleanliness, inspect items on and around it. “Dis-pose redundant things and follow this process frequently to maintain a clean desk,” said Jagadeesh V, vice president-facilities at Bosch.
3 Avoid Snacking at Your Desk
Plastic wrappers from a bag of
biscuits and the box your
takeaway sandwich came in,
among other things, all add up
to make your desk look messy.
“Employees should be encour-
aged to avoid eating/snacking
at their workstation,” said
Saha. Head for the office
cafeteria instead, she said.
4 Get CreativePlastic organisers to hold
papers, documents and files can
be a great way to keep your
desk clean. “Employees can also
get creative and use plastic cups
to hold stationery. Instead of us-
ing multiple notebooks and dia-
ries, keep one notebook handy
to ensure that all your informa-
tion is stored in a single place,”
said Manuel D’Souza, director-
HR at Serco Global Services.
Go Paperless1Wherever and whenever possible, make optimum use of the digital medium, said Smita Saha, vice president-HR at AstraZeneca. “Not only is it a great way to be environmental-ly more sustainable, you’re also reducing clutter thanks to less paper on your desk. You can go a step further by cancelling magazine subscriptions and opting for online ones instead,” she said.
5 Clean Up at the End of the Day
To ensure that you don’t have to return to a messy desk in the morning, spend a few min-utes cleaning up the evening before. “It’s prudent to have a fresh slate to start work every day,” said D’Souza. This makes employees more productive as well, he said.
Keep Your Workspace Organised
Gender and cul-
tural diversity
are critical com-
ponents of finding innovative answers
to complex issues like cyber security,
data & analytics and tax transparency
that companies are wrestling with
now, according to Isabelle Allen, glob-
al head of clients and markets at KPMG
International. Allen, who drives
KPMG’s diversity agenda globally,
spoke exclusively to ET’s RicaBhattacharyya. Edited excerpts:
What role does gender diversity
play in the context of issues that a
workplace faces in a rapidly
disruptive environment?
There are lot of the challenges and op-
portunities that companies are wres-
tling with now — cyber security, data &
analytics, tax transparency and re-
sponsibility to name a few. All of these
issues need different perspectives to
think through how to tackle them. Gen-
der and cultural diversity becomes a
critical component of finding in-
novative answers to such complex is-
sues. Why would you deprive yourself
of half the population when you are
trying to address completely new is-
sues companies haven’t faced before?
Are you talking about the business
case of gender diversity?
Absolutely. We see the business case
for gender diversity at KPMG. A great
example is our work with WCD — Wom-
en Corporate Directors Foundation —
the largest community of women direc-
tors/board members globally. We can
equip women directors/board mem-
bers, so that they are more effective in
their roles, and find and help mentor
the next generation. We are now at a
point where there are thousands of
women who are board members/
directors around the world, and these
numbers are rising by the day. So, our
determination to do the right thing is a
rational and commercial imperative.
We believe that if there are more
women on boards then it contributes
to better decisions at the board table.
We started from a very limited pool of
current women board members and
now, in India, you have a law that says
you must have more, so you need to
move quickly to scale up the pipeline
of talented women to be a part of and
effective in the boardroom. Our in-
volvement with WCD in India will help
meet that need. That will be a very
positive contribution to diversity.
What are the reasons for the slow
pace of progress?
I think some of the challenges are struc-
tural, which can make it harder for
women at particular times in their ca-
reer. For example, taking time off to
raise a family. We also have a lot of cul-
tural challenges; if you go to Japan, if
you go to India, if you go to Germany,
the cultural norms are different. So, for
any global business, it is difficult to
have a single global view and approach.
Do we need to see more women in
client-facing, revenue-driving
roles?
The new CEO of KPMG in the US (Lynne
Doughtie), which is our largest mem-
ber-firm, is a woman. She was the best
qualified and most able person for the
job. And, in Australia, KPMG’s member-
firm has just published the target that
they want to achieve in terms of gender
diversity. I know that KPMG UK’s senior
partner has written to all our head hun-
ters and said ‘unless you present to
me a diverse list of candidates, we
are not going to work with you any-
more’. These are really practical ex-
amples of steps that can, and are,
being taken.
Do you have any specific
diversity target in mind?
We have over 160,000 people
working for KPMG member-
firms around the world and we
will, hopefully, double that
number in the next few years,
so we are talking about recruit-
ing a huge number of people in to
very prestigious, professional
roles. I am confident that an in-
creasing number of them will be
women and that we will make pro-
gress towards gender diversity.
Q&A
Case Library initiated by The Economic Times
For more insightful case studies rooted in the Indian context, log on to www.etcases.com
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS
Godrej Consumer Products: Inorganic Growth ManagementSoon after economic liberalisation
in 1992, the Indian economy start-
ed witnessing competition from lo-
cal as well as international
markets.
In 2007, Vivek Gambhir,
the then chief strategy
officer, witnessed talks
that Godrej had nothing
to appeal to the youth.
However, Godrej, a
115-year-old company
realising the stakes, had
taken prompt action be-
fore it was too late.
In 2013, Vivek Gambhir
took charge as managing
director, Godrej Consumer
Products Limited (GCPL).
On a market visit to
Kurukshetra, Haryana, he walked
into a local shop (mom and pop
store). The owner of the shop ap-
preciated GCPL’s offerings of premi-
um products at a reasonable price
of ̀ 30 and showed him a sachet
of Godrej Expert Rich Hair Crème,
a hair colour product wherein the
competitors were offering similar
products for no less than ̀ 60.
Vivek Gambhir was surprised
when the shop owner mentioned
and acknowledged
Godrej’s launch of in-
novative products every
quarter, wherein the
competitors were cutting
spends.
In 2014, GCPL outper-
formed its peers Marico
and HUL with operating
profit margin (a measure
of a company’s operating
efficiency) of 21.15% for
the December quarter,
whereas Marico’s operat-
ing profit margin stood at
16.11% and HUL’s 14.99%.
What different did GCPL
do to make its hair care product
charm the new generation?
Dr AMARPREET SINGH GHURA,Associate Professor, Regenesys Business School
JENNY B MATHEW, Research Scholar, Tata Institute ofSocial Science
AmarpreetSingh Ghura
Jenny B Mathew
PORTUGAL’S SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS
Portugal’s Banking Sector:Safe or Not?In May 2014, Portugal, on its own
political will, exited the three-year
EU-IMF supported bailout pro-
gramme. Portugal had to accept
€78 billion EU-IMF-led bailout in
2011 to manage its public
debt.
The bailout required
severe austerity mea-
sures leading to public
disapproval and protests.
Analysts raised doubts
about the economic suc-
cess during the bailout
and were even more wor-
ried about the Portuguese
economy post the bailout
exit.
Barely few months later,
in August 2014, Portugal’s
third-largest bank Banco
Espírito Santo (BES) col-
lapsed after reporting heavy losses
(€3,577 million). Portugal was able
to save the bank with €5 billion but
this eroded the nation’s buffer capi-
tal that was saved from the EU-IMF
bailout fund.
What led to Portugal’s sovereign
debt crisis? Has the EU-IMF bailout
helped its economic resurgence?
Next round of elections due in 2015
will exert its own set of pressures
on the government expenditure.
Portugal’s government debt to GDP
ratio increased sharply and was at
129% in 2014. Will this be sustain-
able? Will Portugal’s banking sys-
tem problems and factors leading to
the collapse of BES?
Portugal banks’ non-
performing loans to
total gross loans was at
11%, compared to 3% of
Germany in 2013. Like
BES there could be sever-
al banks in the euro zone
who could suffer such
huge losses. Multiples of
such collapses would lead
the contagion spread,
which may result in a
euro zone-banking crisis
similar to its sovereign
debt crisis.
Health of the financial
system is a prerequisite for a
sustained recovery in Portugal as
well as in the euro zone. Hence, the
pertinent question is how safe is
Portugal’s banking system?
Prof. GANESH KUMAR NIDUGALA,Indian Institute of Management, Indore
RASHMI SHUKLA, FPM Participant, Indian Institute of Management, Indore
Ganesh Kumar Nidugala
Rashmi Shukla
Placement BluesStress startswith entrance coaching,admission test, continues with academic grind and worthwhile placement
Placement pressure stems largely from parents and peer group
Widening gap between highest and lowest pay packages also leads to stress
November is dubbed ‘pressure cooker’ month
Not many students willing to seek counselling to deal with stress and depression at IITs
Parents who are not well informed do create tremendous pressure on students. Students as well as parents should be level headed and understand that crore-plus salaries are offered to only a handful and not all get this
GAUTAM BISWAS IIT GUWAHATI DIRECTOR
Placement Depression Hits IITians
Nearly 60% of India Inc Employees Unhappy with Their Performance Reviews: TimesJobs
Poor informal feedback, hypocrisy are reasons for dissatisfaction about performance reviews, fi nds the survey of over 1,000 employees
ILLUSTRATIO
N: A
NIRBA
N BO
RA
58 90 85 42 90 74 58
figures in %
figures in %
figures in %
REASONS FOR DISSATISFACTION ABOUT PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
said there was a mismatch in self-appraisal and manager’s review
said rating bias
said hypocrisy
said poor informal feedback
said HRsaid CEO
said immediate/reporting manager
said it kills the motivation to work
said it has a distracting effect
said it hampers productivity, but is temporary
said it did not hamper productivity
86
122
EFFECT OF BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW ON PRODUCTIVITY AT WORK
40 33 20 7
Source: TimesJobs.com
Rain Threatto IIT MadrasPlacements
New Delhi: Placements atIIT Madras, this year litera-lly rest in the hands of therain Gods. Incessant rainsin Chennai, which led tofloods and waterlogging inseveral parts of the cityover the past fortnight,have made recruiters un-sure of the placement at IITMadras. The institute wasreceiving frantic calls fromcompanies coming forplacements to the campuson Monday when schoolsand colleges in the citywere told to remain closeddue to rains. IIT-Madras,however, said it is not af-fected much as of now andthat the placements willtake place startingTuesday.
According toan IIT Madrasstudentcounsellor,75% of allstudents whoseek helpsuffer fromclinicaldepression
