Employees cite poor tech, legacy tools as key reasons to quit

Arup Chaudhury, a graphic designer, put in his papers at a Kolkata-based ad agency after almost three years as the firm did not upgrade its hardware. He said the company ingrained in its employees that hardware had to be used “till it died”.

“As a result, we stewed on the problems until some of us found new jobs and left the firm.” While the rapid shift in digitization in a post-covid world has prompted companies to invest huge sums to upgrade their software requirements, more and more employees are quitting jobs, as the hardware has failed to keep pace with the changing environment.

“While firms were quick to adopt remote or hybrid work, their information technology teams haven’t given up their regressive outlook on the use of technology. In most firms, devices are extremely old, and they struggle to efficiently run even the most common new software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams,” said an industry insider seeking anonymity.

An ed-tech executive working at a Mumbai-based company had similar complaints. “I struggled to meet deadlines as the laptop given by the office would stop responding midway,” he said. A media professional from Bengaluru, too, complained about the lack of intent in replacing slow, janky and old devices by the company. “Even the software is not up to date and slow, leading to an increase in menial tasks,” she said, seeking anonymity.

According to most employees Mint spoke to, poor quality technology tools add to stress, especially in a remote working environment as one does not get to meet or interact directly with colleagues to find a solution to an issue. This, they said, is prompting them to quit.

“While working from home, it was a frustration every other day to work on slow or outdated devices that do not support the latest operating system and other software. Moreover, a lack of communication with the IT department (there were very few staff available), took a toll on productivity and increased stress,” said Rashmi Krishnan, a research consultant from Pune.

Vicky Jain, founder and chief executive, uKnowva, a cloud platform automating HR tasks, said many firms still use duplicative software, or tools that perform the same tasks, leading to bad and confusing experiences.

In June, a study by software-as-a-service company, Freshworks, found employees were reporting widespread failures in workplace technology used every day.

Over half of the participants complained of slow speeds, while 34% cited extended response times from IT teams. Lack of collaboration between departments and lack of automation were also cited as pressing issues.The report also said that over two-thirds of managers felt the employees were not given enough time to learn how to use new software and its benefits.

American security company Ivanti said in a report that 50% of the employees it surveyed were frustrated by the lack of intent by their organizations to upgrade tech tools, and 26% were considering quitting.

It said 42% had spent their own money to acquire better technology for work. Sachin Alug, CEO of staffing firm NLB Services, said close to 50% of candidates it interviews cited poor technology at work as a hindrance to growth or optimal productivity.