Resolving Extended Working Hours Conflicts in the IT Industry

Resolving Conflicts About Extended Working Hours in IT

In the IT industry, how do you resolve conflicts about extended working hours? IT doesn't have strict rules for the payment of overtime, approval from authority before overtime, and voluntary/compulsory extended work hours. This is seen in most Information Technology companies.

How do we resolve conflicts when sometimes employees don't wish to work extended hours, but the work demands a few days in a month or two to extend beyond normal working hours?

This is my first question to all on citiHR, though I have been reading the posts for a long time. Most of my questions get answered within other threads. But I guess not much is discussed particularly about HR in the IT industry?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Regards,

Dear Prazee,

In your post, you have mentioned the problems regarding working hours in the IT industry. Are these problems specific to your company, or is this a hypothetical scenario you are discussing? Are you HR professionals from an IT company?

While IT companies are covered under the Shops and Establishment Act, many states in India have excluded IT companies from the purview of the Industrial Standing Orders Act. Although shops and establishment acts specify rules about working hours, labor officers do not enforce these regulations strictly given the nature of the work.

If the post pertains to matters within your company, could you provide further details of the conflict? Who are the parties involved in the conflict? On the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, where do you categorize the nature of the conflict? Is it a "perceived conflict" or a "felt conflict"?

Overtime payment in IT companies is uncommon. IT professionals are typically compensated based on the quantity of work delivered, rather than for the number of hours spent in the office.

Is the work of IT professionals in your company target-based? Are the targets realistic? If targets exist, why are employees required to work extra hours? What are the causes of this additional work? Has a productivity study been conducted? Do software developers work during the day and also engage in calls with offshore clients at night? If so, how many calls are received, what is the duration, and how could these calls potentially be minimized? If concerns about extended working hours are prevalent, why is the project manager unable to address this issue?

There are numerous questions that need to be addressed. Please provide comprehensive information about the case.

In the penultimate paragraph of your post, you mention, "Most of my questions get answered with other threats." Who has issued these threats, and could you share the links to these posts?

Furthermore, the same paragraph notes that not much is discussed about HR in the IT industry. This may be attributed to professionals in other industries being more outgoing and less cliquish. While you have posed a significant question, you have chosen to withhold your name and designation; could this be interpreted as evidence of snobbishness?

Thank you,

Dinesh V Divekar