Ex-Infosys employee opens up about 9 years of 'unchained' slavery, reveals personal story

An ex-Infosys employee shared his experience of working at Narayana Murthy's Infosys, drawing a stark contrast between the work culture at Infosys and other big tech firms. He focused on key issues such as IT corporate culture, underpayment of professionals, and silent exploitation in the industry.

Urging systemic change, he suggested that a “Minimum Wage Policy” should be introduced in India for every role and sector. To ensure fair compensation, he asserted that labour policies must be reformed. His revelation, titled “Infosys - My 9 Years’ Experience of 'Unchained' Slavery,” highlights 10 key takeaways from his personal journey.

“I began my journey as a fresher at Infosys in 2008 and stayed there until 2017 when I switched to one of the Big 4 firms. Currently, I’m working at an IT giant based in Ecospace, Bangalore. Having spent 9 years at Infosys, I thought the norms there were universal across the IT industry,” the IT professional stated.

Here's what the ex-Infosys employee claims

• Underpaid—The IT professional received a salary of ₹35,000 seven years ago when he left Infosys. He said, “I earn ₹1.7 lakh—nearly 400% more.” However, engineers receive only an 80- 100 per cent hike if they switch from Infosys to their current company.
• Perks- At Infosys, the employee paid ₹3,200 monthly in transportation, but at his current company, it is free. He alleged that Infosys charged their employees for parking their vehicles while it was free at the current firm.

• Affordable cafeteria—He pointed to the pricing difference between the cafeterias of the two places. A fresh fruit juice at his current workplace costs ₹15-20, while at his previous company, it was worth ₹40.
• Progressions over promotions- Infosys followed a “progression" system where employees were moved up a sub-level (e.g., 4B to 4A) with no significant salary hike or change in responsibilities. Employees are given real responsibilities and a 15-25 per cent pay hike with promotions at the current organisation.
• Single-digit salary hikes– Even after working 9 years at Infosys, the IT professional received low salary due to single-digit annual hikes (4-6 per cent) and wasted years in “progression” stages.
• 90-day notice period– According to the employee, 3-month notice period at Infosys was a huge barrier to switching jobs while the current company has a 2-month or shorter notice period.
• Mandatory physical work hours—To maintain a mandatory monthly presence on campus, employees had to visit the campus on weekends to swipe their ID cards and hence meet the required work hours.

• Philanthropy versus employee welfare—He alleged that Infosys was not considerate about employee welfare, but the company often spoke about its charitable efforts. The employee argued that generosity must be shown through better salaries and welfare for its workforce.
• Market corrections– In Infosys, “market correction” in salaries was non-existent, while most companies periodically adjust salaries to match market trends.
• Job security is a myth– He emphasised that job security at Infosys is overstated.