Long Working Hours Impacting The Health Of IT Professionals! Blogging With A Purpose #CauseAChatter

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Work From Home Is Not Boon For Everyone At least Not For IT Professionals

WORK FROM HOME becomes the only option to run most of the industries/sectors during this pandemic, isn’t it? We are well aware of how this Pandemic has pinned severe damage to every Nation’s economy and infrastructure. It becomes quite difficult to predict how is the economy going to buckle up in the future as many have already lost their jobs? How deep scars it will leave to our coming generation? or Are we heading to the most-awaited era; The Era Of Pure Digitalisation? As almost every sector private/public has become the victim of this deadly virus from which some sectors are trying best to stand firm including FRONTLINE WORKERS (but this time with due respect I am excluding Frontline Workers from this discussion) some of which I observed around me, through which I can better analyze the difference between these few sector’s working patterns before and after Pandemic. Like, Teachers are putting all their efforts into coping up their students to complete the due session of respective grades, of course, efforts are no less by any mean but at least they are getting benefitted of being at home on the other side experiencing the new online teaching challenge but yes only till the school hours after which they are free to live their life. Similarly, RMs/DRMs of Medical representatives are handling their team by arranging an online meeting and discussing their targets again we can’t deny that they are at one point enjoying more time with their families unlike ever before reason their fieldwork which is totally Off during lockdown. In a similar way, IT professionals are no less than anyone here they are putting all their blood and sweat to make sure that the work of rest all the sectors could not be hampered due to this Pandemic by keeping them digitally upgraded. Here comes my question are IT Professionals getting benefitted in any way by working from home? A big NOOOO.

Work From Home may be a new term for many sectors but for IT Professionals it is just like any other normal day. Yes, many IT professionals have not ever seen their office desk and performing their job thoroughly from HOME, as it is completely on the mutual understanding of their client and them, and opposite to that sometimes the client does not allow work from home. Secondly, sometimes the reason is different locations of all the team members of a particular Project. Going office daily has one benefit that person has to work there and by the fixed time he/she reached home to spend some quality time with family,  kids, or for himself/herself.  But the reality is not as simple as I am saying working hours for IT Professionals at least what I am watching are limitless especially when they work from home, they are working for endless hours to meet the targets given by their clients. they seated tirelessly for continuous 14-16 hours, they skip meals, exercise, facing the loss of sleep, etc. eventually which leaves them with several health issues at a very young age. 

MAJOR HEALTH ISSUES FACED BY IT PROFESSIONALS DUE TO EXHAUSTIVE WORK SCHEDULE:- 

Employees working in the IT industry are prone to develop numerous health problems only because of the physical and mental stress of work by affecting their work productivity.

1). Obesity:- Due to sitting at one place for longer hours occurs obesity at a very primary level, which auto leads to many problems. According to The Obesity Medicine Association’s definition of obesity is “a chronic, relapsing, multifactorial, neurobehavioral disease, wherein an increase in body fat promotes adipose tissue dysfunction and abnormal fat mass physical forces, resulting in adverse metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial health consequences.”

2). BP/Diabetes/Cholesterol:- After obesity, the very basic health issues that arise in IT Professionals are Blood Pressure, type2 Diabetes, and cholesterol. Untimely meals disturb the metabolism of the body which develops the tendency of acidity, very few are known that acidity is also one of the reasons that cause high BP. Hypertension and stress are the other sides of contributors to BP and diabetes, lack of exercise in daily routine raises the cholesterol level of the body.

3). Insomnia:- Most common disease that found in persons belongs to mid-aged or elderly persons i.e. lack of sleep or chronic insomnia, exhaustive hours of working disrupts the person’s sleep routine which leads to severe headaches or Migraine leaving the person lethargic for the whole day.

4). Back Pain /Shoulder Pain:- Apart from a good sleep body needs to be set in the right posture while standing or sitting in front of the screen or while sleeping could only be done by practicing the correct way of stretching from time to time, absence of any one of these lends the person in severe backache.

5). Dry Eye Syndrome:- It is caused by a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. When working at a computer or using a smartphone or other portable digital device, we tend to blink our eyes less fully and less frequently, which leads to greater tear evaporation and increased risk of dry eye symptoms.

6). Cardiovascular diseases:- According to Mayo Clinic, Cardiovascular disease generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. Other heart conditions, such as those that affect your heart’s muscle, valves, or rhythm, also are considered forms of heart disease.

7). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:- According to Mayo Clinic, Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of your hand. When the median nerve is compressed, the symptoms can include numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and arm.

HOW TO STAY FIT AND HEALTHY WHILE WORKING FOR LONG HOURS:-

1). Regular Exercise:- Adopt some form of exercise on a regular basis. For any reason if one can not able to manage it every day then at least build your schedule in the way that suits you the most like twice/thrice/four-times in a week or whatever hours are convenient for you at the end what matters is consistency. Yoga and Meditation are the ultimate way to build immunity.

2). Take A Break:- Sitting at one place for long hours can make muscles rigid and inactive also sometimes leaves the person swelled feet try to take a small break in between of meetings or take a walk of few steps in your home only to maintain the flexibility in joints and to fresh your mind.

3). Balanced Diet:- The most important part to healthy lifestyle has to be taken under consideration very sincerely do make sure to include the green vegetables, fiber, vitamins in the balanced proportion to your diet regardless of working from home or from the office. Prefer to take small meals to keep smoothen the digestion system, avoid oily food as much as you can.

4). Drink Plenty Of Water:- Make sure to have minimum 8 glass of waters daily. Most of the time our busy schedule makes us forget to keep the track of our water intakes, which results in the dehydrated body and other related problems like Urine infection, kidney problems, headache, etc, water is very important for brain and body function so better to keep a bottle near you while working so that you can keep the track also.

5). Fun Time With Friends And Family:-One should preserve his precious time for his family and friends because these are the major source of one’s happiness and healthiness. Here I am telling you how work from home has become a clear curse for IT Professionals when a person goes office after certain hours when he comes back to his home at least he sits and plays with his family, spends quality time with them for few hours, opposite to which while working from home clients are pushing them hard to work for 12-14 hours to achieve the target on the cost of their family time, somewhere these exhaustive hours are killing the family time of most of IT Professionals which directly or indirectly not only affecting the atmosphere of the home but relationships of family members also.

6). Have Perfect Corner To Work:– The crucial point commonly ignored by the professionals while work from home i.e. must have a fixed organized place to work with the right set of furnitures, that facilitates your body in the right posture throughout working. Avoid to work on beds, couch, or on floor, fixed place of working enable professionals to synchronize them with the aura of healthy environment.

Through this post, I want to pull the attention of all the IT Professionals including employee, employer, clients I want to urge that put the health of your employees above all, we do respect your devotion towards achieving the targets but sorry to say you need to reconstruct your work schedule before any permanent damage takes place with your precious resources. This senseless working schedule will not take you anywhere, treat your employees as an asset, working day and night is not going to give you higher productivity, in fact, you might lose an efficient worker due to his deteriorated health. you might get a new replacement but a family might never get back its healthy family member again. Keep Humanity before anything time to think twice !!!!!!!!!!!

You may like to read this Health Issues And Challenges of Software Industry

NOTE:- This post is written as the part of Blogchatter #CauseAChatter Blogging with a purpose.

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19 thoughts on “Long Working Hours Impacting The Health Of IT Professionals! Blogging With A Purpose #CauseAChatter”

  1. you have very aptly captured the problem/ challenge of working from home. and the fact is that, due to the boundaries blurring between work and home, people tend to forget to take break or take time for self care!

  2. I absolutely agree with you. A large part of my family is in IT field and I absolutely understand all these issues. However, in the current scenario, I have also seen people from other industries and sectors slogging themselves and working more hours than the usual. It’s tough for everyone. Great post.

  3. Seriously when I heard about the death of a senior TCS guy due to heart attack I was made to feel where we are heading to? Work/Life balance is gone for a toss and it is not just IT guys dear.. It is surely taking a toll on us. More so if the employee is a lady.

  4. This hits close to home as my husband is from this industry and I absolutely understand your points through this blog. Thank you for sharing this. We, as a family, have taken some strong steps towards our physical health, and creating a separate work was one of those.

  5. Work from home is a nice option to stay safe according to the current scenario but not good for health or body at all. You have explained the cons so well

  6. You have so rightly pointed out the issues of working from home buddy and it is really painful to see this but we are left with no choice

  7. due to lockdown, so many people are stuck at homes and working on their systems all day. there is littrally no workout and bodies are suffering cause of it.
    thanks for the useful tip.

  8. Now when most of us are forced to work from home these tips seem to be useful for everyone. Healthy food and exercise are crucial to keep fit.

  9. This is so true! I have so many friends in the IT field and they say their work pressure & work time has increased since the lockdown began. Very relatable post, will share this with them.

  10. You are so right Archana, IT professionals, and in fact everyone working in the digital space, are suddenly so overworked! It is great that you have shared such practical tips and advice.

  11. Thank you for such an insightful blog! Not just IT professionals, but it means a lot to each and every one. People working from home – Please take care of yourself x

  12. I totally agree with you. It seems great to work from home But its not so beneficial and easy go. It has many cons too , you have describe it so well about it with solution.

  13. Completely agree. Work from home has it’s downsides. I would say it applies to almost all sectors. When you have to give outputs remotely then pressure is more as you are missing human connection. The efficiency cannot suffer due to change in the working environment. I have a couple of friends who have realized that work from home is not meant for them mainly because of the reason that they end up working extra hours.

  14. Yes I agree with you dear that work from home seems like an easy option but there could be different health hazards if we do not paid enough attention to our posture, diet and exercise schedule. taking a break and having a fun time is equally important . thanks for sharing useful tips, will help all of us.

  15. That’s a very important post Archana. It looks very fancy sitting in front of the computer and the whole world at one’s fingertips. Your post shows the other side.

    #causeachatter gives us an opportunity to come out with discussions that must take place.

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