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Published: Sept. 18, 2021, 8:41 p.m.

Welcome to Sridhar’s newsletter number # 34 & Podcast (Click Play button for Audio version of the Post). Appreciate you being here, so we can connect weekly on interesting topics. Add your email id here to get this directly to your inbox.

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This weekly newsletter is mostly about the article, books, videos etc. I read or watch or my views on different topics which revolves around my head during the week. Now, let us dive into this week’s reads.

1. China Limits Online Gaming for Minors

China is limiting online gaming for all game players underage of 18. That is mostly banned on all school days and allowed gaming hours are 8 PM to 9 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Basically 3 hours in total in a week and gaming companies will be accountable to enforce these restrictions. This is drastic change compared to their November 2019 rules which allowed 90 Minutes of gaming on weekdays and 3 hours on each day of weekend. The reason this news catches my attention is to know what their data points were to make such decision. Did the generation have gaming addiction, is the children study life, mental and physical health were impacted?

Yes, it did. Here are few which are called out,

* Decline in Grades

* Inability to Concentrate

* Temper, Aggressive behavior

* Lack of Social Interaction

* Anxiety

* Reduced Memory

One parent mentioned that their kid has a personality change, lot of temper due to heavy gaming. All these problems affect the physical and mental health of minors, as well as their normal day to day living and learning.

Not just gaming as when I grew up, during my childhood and even now I notice one more thing where minors spend most of their time also includes gossips about movies, stars and worshiping the Cinema and celebrities. Facebook, Instagram, TitTok, YouTube, even WhatsApp chats and status are used every day for this purpose. Social networks are also one which should be looked for carefully as they impact the child growth and even grownup adults. Therefore, I always dislike the idea of getting more toys into the home, as they don’t help in any way the child growth. Childhood needs lot of play, interaction with others as kids learn fast as they experience them, not sitting at home with toys, online gaming etc. A child’s universe should be of play, hands on learning, exploration, and socializing. It’s not just you, here even the help is needed from community, as towns, states should focus on building more stadiums, football courts, Badminton courts, state parks, local parks. so, kids have enough activities to do around them to explore the world around them more authentically.

Let me know if it’s a right policy? As a parent, I would say Yes.

(Click below)

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1032489883/china-kids-video-games-limits

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/business/media/china-online-games.html

2. Three Month Notice Period - Indian IT Workforce

Most of Indian IT Companies have 3 Months’ Notice period, which is complete contrast to U.S two weeks’ Notice, but in U.S as well you will find Indian Consulting companies who try to push more than 2 weeks into Job Offer letter. Just investigate any LinkedIn Posts since last 6 months, you will see two type of,

* From Candidate perspective, I am serving a notice period and actively looking for new job opportunities and I can join within a month or in some cases within 15 days.

So, in this case, what’s happening is, they already have an offer at hand, and they are now taking their network help to land multiple offers.

From one Company to another company, few are looking only at a Pay part with counter offers. By the time of their notice period completion, they will join their choice of a company and other companies are ghosted by giving them last minute GHOSTING.

* Start Up Companies are calling out on this process from big tech companies over social media and they are screaming to change the notice period to 15 days.

In some case, the Recruiter or HR team is ranting up for above #1 Culture

Few recruiters are losing jobs in this process as they are seen as not meeting up with their company hiring standards. As Companies loosing revenue for not finding a resource, someone else is taking heat. Either someone is losing job, or some team is facing heat as they are already clocking more hours at work during these covid times as in remote and this resource shortage will bleed them even more.

Among all this, there are professionals around the world who are struggling to get even one job. This makes them feel like a loser and they undermine their own confidence.

Employer is at another level to fuel this up even more. As majority of companies have three months’ notice period, many organizations are posting a job ad for the positions which don’t even exists in their projects. As to hire immediately is not possible, they are interviewing candidates and leaving them in hope of releasing offer letters. In Some cases, people have received offer letter after 10 months as well. As the time of joining comes near even within 2 weeks as well, Employer in this market is continuing their job hunt as candidate can drop a late notice for not joining them, so as a backup they are hitting the job market who are ready to join right away. Here it gets even messy, as people who are really in need of job are in this market, they hit every site and job posting and send 100’s of resumes in a day. They get into interview rounds level 1 and 2 so fast that their hopes of getting jobs gets so high. If earlier recruit is joining the organization, then employer backups in some cases more than 2-3 are being ghosted.

Entire job market is catchy currently, but at the same time it’s too messy. Its high time for employers to change their hiring process, tide has been their side since very long and it is now a time to a change, else it will be fireplace for both employee and employer, for some it will be bonfire, while for others its wildfires.

3. Would you quit job, rather coming to office

Would you quit your job, rather coming to office? In Great Reshuffling and Great Resignations times, I have seen specially in my circle parents are the one who are taking this step much faster than anyone. In last one month, I know more than three parents who have resigned their job for a full remote option.

Since Covid-19 started, most of the jobs which allowed to work remote have been working remote since March 2020. You may call it stress times or drama, these times will be re-called after a decade how we re-call September 11 U.S and India November 26 attacks. For some watching day to day news or going to work knowing still Covid wave is there is really a stressful time we live in. Once Vaccinated we thought we will be back to normal but seeing the resistance against the vaccine for more than 48% adults in U.S and Covid still remapping itself to generate even more and more variants, normal is nowhere near. One day the news is about no masks and just within a week masks are back on. Offices are discussing about coming back to work fully or in hybrid model once vaccinated and few are declaring remote work forever. The Big tech companies who are declaring over news about pushing their back to work plans beyond end of this year or mid of 2022. On Contrast the one who are not in news are silently pushing hybrid model or requesting full back to work. In U.S prior to Delta variant, Covid cases were on seven-day average were in 2000, but over the summer the Delta variant has changed the wave and seven-day average are pushed to 1,45,000 cases per day. Employees have discussed with their HR teams and even in office town hall meetings based on their area number of cases, they are asking them to have some flexibility or give a full remote option, Companies are just going with Industrial era factory model. Ignoring all remote work skills learnt past year are pushed to trash.

Many employees are leaving jobs if they are unhappy with how their company is communicating with them. Employers who have shared monthly update during all of 2020, now have stopped giving any updates after vaccination, all they are doing now is one cold email and asking many to fully back to office. Ignoring their Zip Code specific cases and employees’ requests in town hall meeting is overlooked.

As the pandemic continues in many parts of world, full remote work is here to stay and organizations who realized benefit of remote culture will continue to shine in long term. At the same time, it is important that leaders address the current burnout and frustration while resetting their practices for the long term. It is important for every organization to reflect on past year and experiment with new work culture, instead of following age-old factory model. It is must for employer to be transparent with its employees and have two-way communication. Your Employees won’t be having all answers or you yourself. All employee want is a two-way dialogue which helps in building trust between them.

Coworkers who choose not to be vaccinated or wear a mask at work. Your Zip Code having high number of cases or at home kids below age of 12 who are still waiting for their vaccine shot, it’s a lot for a person now. This uncertainty is not going to get resolve in any time near future. Don’t be an employer who just investigate future risk strategy plans to retain employees and what is your business continuation plan when other employee leaves or even falls sick of Covid. Understanding what drives and motivates employees and then implementing professional development and coaching programs that will help them is much of greater need.

So, some people are choosing to quit if they don't like the terms of their return to work but it's not that easy for others. Let me know in comments below how your organization is responding to return to work.

That is all for this week. See you again.

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