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HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKER AND ITS

IMPACT ON FAMILY LIFE

Research · March 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19114.49601

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ISSN : 0378 – 4568 UGC Care Group 1 Journal
HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKER AND ITS
IMPACT ON FAMILY LIFE

Tariq Ahmad Guroo

Department of English, Govt Degree College, Chaar-i-Shareef Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India,
Email ID: tariqguroo34@gmail.com

Dr. Mohd Shahid Ganaie

Department of English, Govt Degree College, Chaar-i-Shareef Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India,
Email ID: tariqguroo34@gmail.com

Abstract
The present work tries to examine various health problems among the IT workers. The differential work
patterns in the IT sector have several adverse consequences on the health of IT worker in general. Due
to their constant involvement with they encounter with new kinds of health problems which affects their
physical & mental health and ultimately disturbed family relationships. This paper reveals the hidden
health issues in the Kashmir information industry. One can argue, on one hand IT sector has created
tremendous employment opportunities in urban areas thereby re-shaping the social lives of the people
employed, while on the other hand, it is associated with some unusual problems which are new to the
Kashmiri society.
Key words: Health-Problems, Information Technology Workers, Family

Introduction
Information and communication have been central to all previous societies and they have been critical
to their economic, social and political development. In the ancient and medieval worlds, travel and
communication were restricted and even the state had only limited information about its people. The
Industrial Revolution, however, revolutionized transport and communication. Through the advent of the
railways, steamships, cars, and eventually aero-planes, the world became smaller place and transnational
communication mushroomed through the development of the telephone, the telegram, radio and
television. The late twentieth century has seen a Communication Revolution not only in terms of mass
communication through satellite technology but through personal communication access to information.
The personal computer, mobile phone and access to the internet are transforming information societies
where information is the new source of wealth and power, information technology is new means of
production.
Within current social sciences view, frequently advanced, that information is now more central to our
way of life, so much so that many researchers conceive of emergence of a new entity, the information
society. In the industrial era people made their livings by the sweat of their brow and dexterity of their
hands, working in factories to manufacture products. In contrast, in the information Society, livelihood
is increasingly made by appliance and manipulation of information, be it in software design, branding
or financial services, and the output is not so much a tangible thing as a change in image, relationship
or perception.( Frank Webster, 2004). This being so, society studies are set to become a central
component of sociological exploration.
The present paper is an attempt to analyze various health problems among the IT workers. The
differential work patterns in the IT sector have several negative consequences on the health of IT worker
in general and BPO worker in particular. Owing to their constant involvement with they encounter with
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new kinds of health problems which affects their physical health, mental health and ultimately disturbed
family relationships. This paper reveals the hidden health issues in the KIT (Kashmir information
Technology) industry. One can argue, on one hand IT sector has created tremendous employment
opportunities in urban areas thereby re-shaping the social lives of the people employed, while on the
other, it is associated with some unusual problems which are new to the India society.

Srinagar at glance:
Srinagar is the shortened word of shrinagra. Kalhana, the author of Rajtarangni (first recorded history
in India) wrote that shrinagra was founded by king Ashoka (272 BC to 231 BC), at Purana Disthana (old
Capital). (Rashid, A., 2014) [2] This place is now known as Pandrathen and falls within the municipal
limits of Srinagar. As physical expansion of Srinagar city, housing colonies came up during Dogra rule,
in Wazirbagh, Ram Munshibagh and Karan Nagar, Amar Singh College and S.M.H.S hospital got
established in Dogra rule which ended in 1947. From 1947 till year 1999 AD, Srinagar City, has grown
comparatively faster, but mostly in haphazard manner. Insignificant proportion of population of the city
has, however, been absorbed in small housing colonies of Jawahar Nagar, Balgardan, Nursing Ghar,
Sutra Shahi, Balmalini, Chanapora, Bemina, etc. all built up in the public sector. Construction of
Kashmir University, Regional Engineering College (now called National Institute of Technology, NIT),
Medical College, a good number of educational institutions, hospitals, Fruit Mandi and a good number
of industrial estate including Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) and Bemina Woolen Mills, owe their
existence to the said period. Srinagar municipality was first established during Dogra rule under the
municipal Act 1886. In 1960, municipality covered an area of about 28sq kilometre. Many a time, since
1886, limits of municipality were extended when a good number of villages were annexed to it.
Consequent upon rapid urban growth, the city limits have further been extended in 1978. As it stood in
the year 2005, municipality consisted of sixty-eight wards and covered an area of about 282 kms2.The
city of Srinagar was confined in the beginning to the right bank of river Jhelum but later it was extended
to the left bank also, so as to include the portion enclosed by the canal known as Kut-kul which takes
off from the river below Shergari and joins it again near the 7th bridge. The exceptional position of
Srinagar can be safely attributed to the great natural advantages of its site. Occupying a place close to
the true centre of the valley, Srinagar enjoys facilities of communication, which no other site could offer.
Before the advent of road transport, the river along which the city is built, provided at all seasons the
most convenient route for trade and traffic both up and down the valley i.e. from Khanabal in Anantnag
town to Khadanyar in Baramulla district. The lakes viz. Dal and Anchar, which flank Srinagar, furnished
an abundant supply of products, which materially contribute towards the livelihood of a large city
population (Master Plan- 2011) [3].

Objective
To explore the occupational hazards in terms of health problems occurring among the Information
Technology workers by night shifts.
To examine the impact of new consumption pattern and leisure on the Information Technology workers
To identify health problems among the information workers and its impact on their family.

Hypothesis
Family is a major social institution in our society and undoubtedly industrialization, urbanization and
globalization has had enormous impact on family, marriage and kinship structure in India.

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Universe & Selection of Sample:
The selected district is constituted of 68 wards with almost equal population, out of which we have
selected only ten wards for present study. From each ward only10 respondents were selected for the
collection of research data in relation to the demographic composition of the Srinagar city. In this way,
100 respondents were selected in total from the concerned universe. Before interviewing the respondents
of the urban areas, a thorough study was conducted in the area to collect the necessary information
regarding the urban dwellers and local government in the district. After that with the help of random
sampling, 10 respondents from each ward are selected for the collection of research data. There are
many research designs to carry out the research or fieldwork on a particular type of research problem
such as experimental research design, descriptive research design and exploratory research design. As
far as our research is concerned, exploratory research, design has been used in the present work. The
data available to us revealed that our problem can be studied further for more research work as it has
been suggested by exploratory research design.

Methodology
Changing the quality of the present research is intended to be qualitative in nature, which would analyze
phenomena relating to, or involving quality or kind. It is in this context that the problems of strategies
groups, i.e., IT professionals and people directly involved with the IT sector of Bangalore city will be
carefully studied.
The research design for the present study is descriptive in nature and enables the researcher to make
enough provision for protection against bias and maximize the reliability of data. For this purpose
material are drawn from both primary and secondary sources.
Primary sources will comprise of data collected through Case Study method, observation, questionnaires
and interviews. The sampling method would be probability sampling based on the concept of simple
random selection.
The sample size of 90 IT professionals involved in (Information technology enabled services particularly
software and hardware technology and BPO workers) working in various firms in Srinagar. The sample
size comprises of married 75, unmarried15 and no divorcees with 60 males and 30 females.

Analysis
Table 01 Working during Night shift
Option Frequency Percentage
No 40 47.05
Yes 45 52.95
Night shift creating Marital and other problems (out of 40)
No 20
Yes 80
The infiltration of information society in India has led to irregular working hours among the workers.
Kashmiris situated 5 hours ahead of UK, 10 hours ahead of New York and 13 hours ahead of Los
Angeles. USA and UK companies can claim overnight responsibility because during their night time, it
is day time in India and agents in India can respond to

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emails during Indian business hours. This is known as following the sun model. It is this working at
nights that requires adjusting the biological clock and social practices to a different time, which is
turning out to be a major cause for health-related and social problems.
From the above table it becomes apparent that 52.95% of the total numbers of respondents work at night
shifts. But the majority that is 68% percent does not work over-time. However, the people who work
over-time reported that they face many problems at home front owing to their erratic working hours.
Majority of workers (80%) who work at night shifts claim to have disturbed family life and marital
maladjustment.

Table 02 Do you think irregular working hour/ Night shift is creating health Hazards (Out of
42%)
Option Percentage (42%)
No 15
Yes 85

Due to irregular working hours, employees have been found unable to fulfill their family responsibilities
be it in their role as parents, husbands/wives and sons/daughters--- due to which conflicts occur in their
roles. Quite apart from this, health problems stress, problems related to eyesight, the spinal cord and
stress are quite rampant in this, dominantly, Young labor force. 85% of the total respondents who
worked at night shifts experienced health problems, while only 15% reported that they did not suffer
from any health hazards. Example can be cited from the telephone call center industry in India which
was established only over the last 10 years. The Industry is touted as a magic wand that will ward off
unemployment for thousands of young graduates. There is a concern regarding issues of health and
safety that are unique to this new and developing industry. As there is time difference between India
and the
United States and Europe the work for these workers in call centers in India (Srinagar) starts late in the
evening and extends until dawn. Such odd hours bring in a host of health problems including digestive
diseases, hair loss, back pain and stress. Long hours of work,

permanent night shifts, incredibly highwork targets, loss of identity are these dark clouds hovering over
the call center industry in India.
Table 03 Are you suffering BOSS Bum out Stress Syndrome?
Option Percentage (42%)
No 18
Yes 82

The above table clearly specifies that 82% of the respondents admitted the fact that they suffered from
bum-out-stress syndrome. Only 18% of the IT workers did not suffer from it. The symptoms of this
syndrome include chronic fatigue, insomnia and complete alteration of 24-hour biological rhythm of the
body. Gastrointestinal problems are inevitable for those working at nights as the body is put under
chronic stress. A potentially fatal increase in heart rhythm can result in severe chronic gynaecological
problems in women and sleep disorders in both men and women.

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Irritate- Call problem
Call centre managers in India often take calls from irate customers that get out of hand and get
transferred to them by the call centre executives. The number of irate calls has increased dramatically
over a period of time. The fact is customers have become more demanding. In short, customers want the
same things they always wanted. Callers want very basic things, accurate information, solutions to their
problems, apologies if they have been disappointed, professional and courteous responses and a
commitment to resolve their issues with a company's product or service and when it will be resolved.
This is what happens when you receive a call from an irate customer. The- Indian call centre
representative feels defensive, the irritated callers want to call and the call centre representative wants
to explain company policy, which the caller doesn't care. The Indian call centre representative tries very
hard to think about excuses and may not hear the real "hot button" the customer is explaining. The Indian
call centre representatives want to explain how these things can happen and the caller does not want to
be educated. The biggest challenge that these call centre representatives have is trying to fix the problem
before they fix the customer's feelings. As result they sometimes complain of repetitive Brain. Strain
which creates major socio-psychological problems.

Human Resource professionals in Bangalore call centres have to be on constant vigil for the physical
and emotional symptoms of burnout. They have to teach employees to manage their workload and time-
when to send a 2-line email in place of a 2-page one, and when to go horne and leave it for tomorrow.
They also need to show people how to delegate. Teambuilding should be a core competency of a Human
Resource person. Long term stress can lead to the loss of good people, and stress management is one of
the primary jobs of a Human Resource manager.
Over 24% of respondents complained of sleep disorders. Most customers of Indian BPOs come from
the US and UK. So, employees work on UK/US shifts and typically spend long hours in the night, at the
office. Abnormal timings have a two-fold effect on call centre executives-freshers are required to adapt
themselves to a different biological clock and existing employees often suffer from insomnia.

Eyesight problems
More and more IT managers are complaining of eyesight problems. Long hours in front of the computer
tend to exhaust the eyes. Employees face problems like irritation, and watering of the eyes. Absence of
adequate breaks and sleep adds to the stress levels and put pressure on the eyes. Nearly 39% of the
respondents complained of eye problems.

Lethargy
Stress is an unavoidable part of most job roles in the IT sector. The cause ranges from stringent deadlines
to meeting customer expectations, leading to both physical and psychological problems. While most
organisations have a system in place to take care of the physical well-being of their employees, lately
they have also started focusing on providing emotional support through psychological counselling.
These companies also want to find out whether counselling can lead to greater motivation among the
workforce so that they can better themselves and develop new skills.

General scenario
Other issues were related to loss of identity, isolation, and drug abuse and work pressure due to long
hours of work, permanent night shifts, and high work targets. 30-40% of the employees working in the
call centre had complained of eye problems. India is all set to register the highest growth rate in call
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centre services industry in Asia Pacific Region. A recent survey on Information technology enabled
services has revealed that currently more than 150 call centres are operating in the country, inclusive of
international and domestic. It is widely believed that this industry is expected to compensate for the loss
of revenue for the software industry.
Little documentation is available as yet on these health problems but there are three clear issues
emerging from the nature of call-centre work The first is the issue of identity, and the second issue is
the isolation faced by call centre employees. Given the intense contact between team members on a
shift, there is bound to be some development of interpersonal relationships. When the shift changes,
there is a sudden break-up of relations. There is a period of total isolation both within the work
environment and without - since family lives get disrupted and contacts between family members break-
up. The third issue is related to the stress levels of employees who work during night shifts and are given
high targets this may force some towards drug abuse of some sort like pep-up pills and other drugs to
keep them going especially when youngsters have money to indulge - this is a very genuine
apprehension.
As of now, no understanding of the problem exists in India, leave alone a minimum standards code.
Some call centre and IT companies in the country have got together under the aegis of Nasscom to
address common areas of concern - but so far these have largely cantered on deciding how not to poach
on each other's employees and what to do with the Shops and Establishments Act. Employee stress -
and its impact on the bottom line through high attrition rates - is not even on the horizon of concerns.
Although the fundamental elements of a call handler's job are the same as a typical computer-based
office job, the close combination of these elements results in a unique job often of an intensive nature,
hence the need for appraisal of dangers that are lurking in the corners of well-furnished IT offices.

Case Studies Case -T

T belongs to Lala Bazar Srinagar. He is an MA in English and Diploma in German language has done
most of his education from Delhi. He works in a BPO in Bangalore as an analyst. Both his parents are
working. A is married since one year to another BPO worker. He works at night shifts and his timings
are from 8.00 in the evening to 4.00 am in the morning. Due to working at night shifts he is unable to
balance family life. T has been working in the BPO industry since 4 years and believes that such erratic
working hours hassled to health problems among many BPO workers. The Burn out Stress Syndrome
is quite common among these workers. While interacting with foreign clients they hide their own
personal identities in order to be familiar with their clients. Problems like prolonged working hours,
tackling the identity issue and achieving targets engulf the minds of these workers and they come under
severe psychological strain. A says that his conversation with his client at the other end is recorded and
even their working is monitored. Due to such surveillance mechanisms these workers are under
tremendous stress to prove their efficiency even at the cost of their health. T is suffering from problem
of eyesight due to sitting in front of the computer for longer hours and he even feels that he is always
under psychological pressure to achieve targets and prove his efficiency is under regular health check-
up and even visits his psychiatrist. Owing to regular night shifts A is unable to contribute towards family
life as a result of which he fails to fulfil his roles and responsibilities required to maintain a healthy and
successful marital life.

Case study G
G is a 23-year-old unmarried female from Outskirts of Srinagar city. She is educated from SSM College,
Baramulla and works in an international call center at night shifts. She admitted that working at night
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shifts has resulted in having adverse impact on her mental and physical health. G has changed her
lifestyle due to her job. She even complained of hormonal imbalance due to her working at night shifts.
But in spite of having so many health problems, she does not want to leave her job since she is waiting
for her promotion. She considers her job as a lucrative one which has given her all material comforts in
life. Regarding her workplace and her nature of work she revealed that she had to hide her own
individual identity while dealing with the international clients at the call center. Moreover, she has to
stress her vocal chords in order to speak in the American accent. Sometimes, the American clients would
use abusive language when they to come to know that the person who is dealing with them is not an
American. Therefore, there is lot of pressure on these employees to speak the correct accent in order to
avoid any abusive behavior. In G's case it becomes clear that there is lot of psychological pressure to
build up a false identity at the workplace and at the same time protect one's own identity. This pressure
results in a lot of stress, depression and other psychological problems affecting one's physical health.

References:
[1] Villegas, Alessondra (2013) "The influence of technology on family dynamics," Proceedings of
the New York State Communication Association: vol. 2012, Article 10.
[2] Rashid, Abdul and Anil Mittal, (2014) “General knowledge Jammu and Kashmir- complete
description of history, geography, economy, culture, politics with growth and prospects Arihant
publications (India) limited, New Delhi-110002, p-13.)
[3] (Master Plan-2011) Srinagar development Authority.

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