The Hindu Business Line : Is the concept of independent director too tough to achieve in practice?

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Is the concept of independent director too tough to achieve in practice?

STORY so far: An emergency arises in the form of my neighbour waking me up in the wee hours. Her son, Chari, who has just returned from his call centre work, has become unconscious. At the hospital, even as the doctor attends to the boy, I wonder if enough attention is given to the health of call centre employees.

Episode 112

The nagging thought I'd left with you was about the welfare of a whole new generation, and I'm happy that there are passionate responses.

"Hi Swati, I am not happy with the topic you have chosen for this week," writes M. Radhakrishnan (radmeera@hotmail.com).

"All occupations, except a few (such as CA), have got occupational hazards. In India, most workers in various industries are exposed to the risk of getting diseases, ranging from breathing problems to cancer. People work at offshore rigs (petroleum drilling activities) continuously for a month without seeing the outside world. What about those who are in the marketing field; they travel more than 100 km a day, exposing themselves to accidents. What about the policeman who works more than 12 hours a day? What about our servicemen (BSF, CRPF, and the Army)? What about the risks faced by construction workers who toil in the hot sun, and the conditions cement loaders are exposed to? And what about the stress stockbrokers and treasury dealers undergo? You name any job, and it is likely to involve a lot of stress. Your topic of discussion would have been ideal for a health column."

I agree, Radhakrishnan, that there are hazards in all occupations. But the point I wanted to highlight was whether in the eagerness to be the back-office of the world, we were neglecting urgent issues, such as the well-being of our youths, who are employed in call centres.

However, Radhakrishnan goes on to offer a solution. "A simple solution is for the Government to bring in legislation on the maximum number of working hours and the number of mandatory holidays for the employees." That's a good starting point, I'd say.

"Dear Swati, Congratulations on taking up an issue that concerns about 3,50,000 employees in the call centre business who are yet to have an organised union to fight for their rights," writes C. Ramesh, of Keeramangalam, Pudukkottai District (rameshchidambaram@yahoo.com). "Apart from workload, two other factors that affect the health of call centre employees are temporary voice-loss and the psychological impact of having to deal with rude customers. Many workers continue taking calls even when they suffer from sore throat for fear of losing the job." How appalling!

"The call centre employees should organise themselves into a union and negotiate an agreement that set maximum hours of voice-based work per day with sufficient breaks." I'm sure employers would be up in arms against the very idea.

"Call centres started with a lot of hoopla. But much attention was not given to the industry's long-term impact on social, economic, intellectual capital and the health aspects of its employees," writes in J. Ravi Chander (jravichander14@yahoo.com).

"This nocturnal profession has brought about changes in the biological cycle, habits and social life of its employees. Recently, I read that some call centres are now willing to hire students just out of school (to increase work-force retention rate). Isn't this exploitation in the name of providing employment?" I guess, it is, Ravi!

"As the problems far over-weigh the benefits, there is a need to redefine the objectives of this industry. Alas! Rather than finding new avenues, we are depending too much on the IT and BPO industry."

"Dear Swati, I am in no way connected with business, but while glancing through the pages of Business Line, the caption of your article caught my attention," writes P. S. Purna Shankar (purnashankar@hotmail.com). "The answer is a big resounding No. All of us — the employee and his family, the employer/manager, and the organisation — are responsible for this apathy. Call centres, BPOs, KPOs and the like are here to stay. Also, the fact that the employees have to work at odd hours in 24/7 organisations is well recognised. The only option then is to examine how best the employees' health and well-being can be addressed within these constraints.

"This calls for a team approach, first by the organisation (specifically by the HR department), the employee, the medical facility at the workplace, if any, an occupational health specialist, fitness trainer, physio-therapist, social worker/counsellor, a nutritionist and the caterer supplying meals to the employees." That's good guidance for employers, I'd say.

"A youngster like Chari having a health emergency is becoming disturbingly common these days. These jobs involve high levels of stress on account of deadlines, stringent accuracy levels and several other factors. It is time that we took some preventive steps, improved the diet and effected lifestyle changes. This calls for a high level of commitment from all concerned.

"Many youngsters have very poor diets and are unable to cope with the stress. Others eat the wrong kinds of food without adhering to a proper schedule and therefore suffer from obesity, cardio vascular disease, diabetes and such, at a very young age. All of this can be prevented, or at least postponed, by exercising and paying attention to diet." Good food is the last priority for most youngsters. "It has now become imperative for all organisations to start a `health and well-being initiative' that includes providing counselling on diet, the importance of health, exercise and fitness. They should address health issues specific to the jobs and provide early intervention with the help medical and para-medical personnel.

"There should be emphasis on women's health and fitness issues, since many women employees in call centres are in their early 20s. Many of young women employed in call centres tend to be underweight and anaemic, even as they are more concerned about restricting their food intake." That's a lot of professional input.

"As a nutritionist I have been working with infants, children and women and cannot but be concerned about the health implications of these young women and men. I feel very strongly that nutrition education and awareness and individual counselling with regard to diet to employees by the organisation and the caterer, not to mention periodic health checks, would go a long way in preventing many of these ills. By the way what happened to Chari? I do hope he is okay now." Thanks Purna, for the valuable message. As for Chari, he is on the road to recovery, obeying his mom's orders about food. You would chuckle if I told you what he asked me a couple of days ago: "Didi, I think I'll quit and do CA. What do you say?"

Just one more mail, about an earlier episode, from Pradeep K (pradeep.1912@gmail.com). "Hi Swati, this is with reference to your article on BPOs in villages (Business Line, August 29). There seems to be a huge potential for utilising the resources available in villages to set up BPOs. Can this opportunity be utilised for the underprivileged? Can companies be proactive in taking this to the people? Are there organisations that are into such initiatives? If so, can individuals contribute? I would like you to share your comments on these areas. I would also like to find out if there are possibilities to collaborate with the corporate world in taking this business to the people." I'm happy to see your enthusiasm, Pradeep, though it may take some time to hunt for answers to your posers.

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On Thursday, there was an important meeting that my boss convened. Gupta and Chandru were also present. "A search for independence," said the boss, and I looked at the calendar and told him, "Sir, we celebrated I-Day last month!" He smiled and said, "Swati, I'm talking about independent directors. We need a few on our board." Gupta interjected, "They must be really good." On the table were scores of profiles that a HR consultancy firm had sent across to the boss. Each sheet had a photo, and a brief bio of a possible candidate for the I-director post. It was good fun, even as each of us had something or the other to say about each candidate. After about an hour, we decided that we'd ask for more candidates from the HR firm. On the way back to my desk, I wondered if the concept of independent directors is too difficult to achieve in practice.

Send in your thoughts by Friday.

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

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