I have heard that the personal space of an employee is protected vigorously in other countries whereas in my own backyard, it is not that much respected and I had occasion to witness both within a week.
One of my friend flew down from another state to visit me at my current location in the US and spent some good time extending his weekend. As he is a critical resource in the team, I casually asked as to how he could travel at such a short notice and he responded that he has enough leave and all he has to do is to update his calendar as PTO (Paid Time off) and that there is no practice of waiting for approval here, unless there are some exigencies. In fact, he went on to add that employees here claim leave as a matter of right, as and when it is available to them, and their leave requests are rarely turned down by their Managers.
In a closed group in social network I happened to see another post about the updates to the leave management policy of a leading nationalized bank in India. The circular on amended procedure explained as to how the Manager has to send the status of 'as on date employee's performance' against his targets while 'forwarding' the leave application and in the absence of the same the leave request will be summarily rejected.
I was aghast at the situation prevailing in India - atleast not yet changed since I left active service a decade ago ! Does this mean that if an employee's performance is not upto the expectations he cannot enjoy his promised privileges or exercise his rights which includes spending time with his family? Is this the work life balance that seems to be more breached as much it is preached ? Indian working conditions have a long way to go and it is time that such employees also raise their voice against the injustice.
This could also be considered as an abject failure of the representative bodies like unions and associations , supposed to safeguard the interest of the workforce, from which not a whimper is heard, at an order in writing impacting the personal life of employees. If a representative body is unable to resist such an interference into the personal life , is it not time to (re)think about its utility ?
Very true.
ReplyDeleteIn Europe it is considered an offence even if employers ask the employee reason for leave. It is considered as an intrusion into privacy.
Parental leave is 14 months out of that 2 months is for the husband.
Indian trade unions have to work for the benefits of employees. Instead they work along with corporate management to deprive the rights of employees.
There are some multi-national organizations that insist on every employee taking a two week paid leave every year. In this two weeks they are not allowed to access the company's network/nor call anyone in the office. This rule is especially for customer-facing employees. But in India, it is 24 by 7 - if you are in senior management.
ReplyDelete"Sadly this is the current state of affairs wrt banks, with unions n Assn having no say in the management's decisions n policies. Gone r the days when bargaining power was healthy. It's more a choice less situation with "take it or leave it" policy." - Ms Padmini
ReplyDelete"That is ridiculous. Someone will go to the courts"- Mr R Swaminathan, Mumbai
ReplyDelete"Well said Kabali" - Mr R Pachatcharam
ReplyDelete"Sadly true affairs" - Mr Sivashankar Babu
ReplyDelete"I used to think that among white collar jobs, banking and insurance sectors pay well and treat employees well as they are organized by way of unions." - Ms B K Gayathri
ReplyDeleteGood article. Yes folks don’t usually ask about leave. Oftentimes though some folks set bad precedent by not shutting off during a vacation. I have learnt here that it is not appreciated if as leaders you don’t show people how to turn off! In fact recent trends in many companies is unlimited PTO if manager approves. We find that many of our employees waste PTO (paid time off, this is like your salary, it is a benefit)!- Ms G G from USA
ReplyDelete" Yes, I too was denied to take leave even though I had 180 days pl and hence have decided to quit" - Ms Vidhya V
ReplyDelete"Very true. In Europe it is considered an offence even if employers ask the employee reason for leave. It is considered as an intrusion into privacy.
ReplyDeleteParental leave is 14 months out of that 2 months is for the husband. Indian trade unions have to work for the benefits of employees. Instead they work along with corporate management to deprive the rights of employees." Mr Murali Srinivasan, Germany
"Very nicely written about the Indian force. Since i worked in Ministry of xxx, GOI, occasionally we faced such hardships. Many of my bank friends raised this issue." Mr Rajamani, Bengaluru
ReplyDelete"Yes I happened to read the plight of the Manager in our Bank." - Mr Bharath
ReplyDeleteExcellent sir
ReplyDeleteVery well written article . In our set up we just make sure that the person is made responsible to see that his leave does not affect that days work . In other words he/ she is asked to take leave but find a substitute to work . Another reason I feel is India always has short of work in employees though the number of workers are there for income reasons in corporate sectors . Maybe my guess is not correct . Even in US there is only specified amount of leave and they avail it well in advance . Regds Dr Pa. Ganesh
ReplyDelete"Super. Proud of you.." - Writer Subha
ReplyDeleteDear Kapalee. Very Insightful Article. Thank you.
ReplyDelete"Superb article. A true HR (humane research)person like you be given the decision making role." - Ms Radha, Chennai
ReplyDelete