Representative image showing a woman dealing with work stress
Credit: iStock Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Rahul V S, 40, Kanivalavan Ramesh, 41, Jeena B 30, Divya Sundaram, 40, Jayan, 49 - the list of IT sector employees who succumbed to cardiac arrest in the last two months alone.
The death of EY employee Anna Sebastian Peryail, 26, allegedly due to work pressure seems to be not a one-off case. Prathidhwani, a forum of Kerala IT employees, is frequently posting obituaries of IT employees who succumbed to cardiac arrest. It includes Keralites working in other states as well as IT employees from other states working in Kerala.
This has, indeed, triggered serious concerns among the IT fraternity. Prathidhwani, which is based out of Technopark, recently submitted memorandums to the Centre and Kerala governments seeking measures to ensure wellness of the IT employees.
Prathidhwani state convenor Rajeev Krishan told DH that since 2023 at least 12 such cases of IT employees in their middle ages succumbing to cardiac arrest came to their notice, while the actual numbers could be much higher.
In the wake of EY employee Anna's death, Prathidhwani conducted a seminar on mental health issues of IT sector employees as well as labour laws at Thiruvananthapuram Technopark.
"The event had witnessed good participation of employees who shared their plights over struggling to maintain work-life balance, especially women. Many felt that work from home is also becoming a vitiating factor for stress owing to limited interaction with colleagues as well as companies expecting employees to be available for work 24 X 7," he said.
Based on the feedback, Prathidhwani submitted representations to the Centre and Kerala governments last week. The key suggestions include setting up a confidential grievance redressal mechanism, mental health hotline for IT employees and ensuring compliance of Mental Health Care Act.
Prathidhwani is also initiating routine medical camps and health surveys among the employees to study and address mental health issues and job stress.