Friday, July 12, 2013

Boys shouldn't talk to girls? Undermining social skills in the workplace in India...

Janani got a job in a software firm last year through campus placement. A high-scorer from a famous engineering college in Chennai, she knew her job, but results were hard to come by as she remained incommunicative with male colleagues. Soon, the HR found out the reason: As a student, she seldom spoke to men on campus. That was a college rule.

The rest of Chennai might have broken out of the conservative cocoon, but several professional colleges in and around the city, as a norm of 'discipline,' don't allow students of opposite sex to talk to each other. While some parents and teachers are glad, thinking that they wouldn't have to deal with 'affairs', the students and their prospective recruiters are worried about a deficiency in their social skills.

"Working in an office like mine is a challenge for people like me who come from these colleges," said Janani. "On campus, talking to a boy is illegal; in office, it is a necessity as you have to interact with team members and bosses."

Recruiters say this taboo on campus is taking its toll at the work place. "This practice has been prevalent in many city colleges," said Somasajeevan, a HR professional and a guest lecturer in an engineering college. "I have recruited hundreds of students and found many of them lacking in social skills. Students from colleges with such restrictions find it difficult to network, communicate or grow in their careers. Healthy friendship in college helps them develop into better employees." Full story...

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  4. Poor English, computer skills make Indian graduates unemployable...
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