Key Highlights:
Genpact has introduced 10-hour working days with real-time digital monitoring in its Indian offices.
Workers object to too much stress, decreased morale, and threats of disciplinary action if goals are not achieved.
Key Background :
Genpact’s new office system policy—10 hours of clocked work a day—was implemented in mid-June in some India-based offices, Hyderabad being among the first to be targeted. An hour is left in the working day to spend as break time, but what is being met with skepticism is the method employed to track employees’ diversion from work, which computes each minute of “active time” spent on activities.
The policy has also evoked overall dissatisfaction in the employees. Internet forum discussions in Reddit websites indicate increasing ire at the mental price of extended working hours in the dark looming over of aggressive monitoring. Employees complain of being bossed around, one of them remarking that “₹3,000 for all this stress is not worth it.” The monetary gain, while appreciated as a clarion call, is by some regarded as paltry compensation for overtime and stress.
This not only tracks time but also flags as failing employees with less than the “active hours” standard. The employees fear that this is being used against them, with warnings or disciplining experimented with in the guise of behavioral issues. Some employees believe that this is an attempt to bully older employees into resignation so that the firm can hire younger or cheaper replacement workers.
Legally, the 10-hour day remains within Indian acceptable parameters, and it would be in line with anticipated future labor legislation, such as that in states like Karnataka. But workplace scholars observe that the policy is not aligned with best international practice, which increasingly endeavors to put the interests of workers’ welfare, flexibility, and productivity ahead of rigid clock-based cultures.
The bigger picture is that businesses such as Genpact are perhaps reconsidering post-pandemic management of people. Remote work had previously provided employees with autonomy and freedom, but the current direction of the trend appears to be the opposite way, towards surveillance and control. The reaction, though, shows that policies risk undermining staff trust, harming morale, and eventually impacting long-term productivity and talent retention.
