Counselling for IT professionals

IT firms are increasingly engaging the services of professional counsellors through an 'Employment Assistance Programme' (EAP) as they feel the need to ensure that employees' personal problems do not impact firm's productivity.

Stress over performance, career growth and workplace relationships have a connection with the workplace but, on the face of it, issues like marriage, loneliness, depression and parenting. But research indicates that personal problems impact productivity.

This has prompted several Indian and MNC firms such as Texas Instruments, IBM, HP-GDIC, i-flex solutions, Metlife Insurance, Dell International Services, EMC2 and L&T Infotech to engage counsellors, it was revealed at an interactive seminar on 'Personal Issues Impacting Productivity' on Thursday.

Human resources professionals of these firms stated that EAP had helped them maintain productivity levels. In the last one year alone, several employees of these firms suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies were counselled to lead a normal life, they said.

1to1help.net Pvt Ltd director Karuna Baskar, who provides EAP counselling to several firms, pointed out that employers may not want to get directly involved in the employees' personal lives, yet they recognise that personal problems do affect the company's bottomline.

"Besides, by providing assistance for the personal needs of employees, firms give a practical indication of their concern for employee well being," she added.

Another counsellor Archana Bisht revealed that 88 per cent of IT firms' employees, who turned up for counselling, wanted to discuss personal issues.

"Of this, 48 per cent was about relationships and 12 per cent was about work. This trend clearly indicates the problems of employees despite high salary and good work culture," she said.

Karuna felt that a strong stigma was still attached to counselling in India. "We need to overcome barriers to seeking counselling while catering to a large population. More and more firms are now showing interest in engaging the services of counsellors," she stated.