IBM

Hybrid work model and health policy.

WiFi reimbursement.

I would like to share my experience working on a Vodafone Idea project at IBM Pune, where the behavior of the manager, tech lead, and subject matter expert (SME) was quite disappointing. All of them were from Pune except the SME. They lacked basic manners in their communication with employees, often resorting to yelling and treating them as if they were slaves. All of us used to work till late night, sometimes till 4 am in the morning when they used to force us, mostly during the production deployment along with the operations team. Employees were frequently called in at odd hours, including weekends and even late nights. They used to make us work on weekends without any compensation in terms of comp-off or shift allowance. This created an atmosphere of mental torture for me and many others. Planned leaves were often denied, and there was a distinct sense of discrimination fostered by the tech lead based on Marathi and non-Marathi origin. The behavior of the tech lead was particularly appalling, as he would even demand work from employees in emergency situations, such as while they were traveling long distances by train or bus. Under such situations, when I approached the reporting manager for help, he said he couldn't do anything. Overall, the experience was deeply unpleasant and took a toll on both morale and well-being. It was a nightmare for me and many of my colleagues. I never wanted to leave IBM so soon, but the management, especially the tech lead, created a situation for me where I had no other option. I would not recommend anyone to work on Indian projects having a toxic environment. Moreover, the project itself is a disaster with no new tools and technologies.

Learn some basic manners, especially from the manager and the tech lead.