Managing heavy work investment: a qualitative study of employees’ experiences and expectations in the Indian IT industry

Purpose This research study explores how Indian IT professionals experience and manage the heavy work investment (HWI). Further, this study examines employees’ perceptions of current workplace wellbeing-oriented practices and their expectations from their organisations in addressing the negative outcomes of HWI. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative research approach and conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 38 Indian IT professionals. Thematic analysis was conducted to understand the management practices, employees’ experiences and expectations in the Indian IT context. Findings This thematic analysis reveals that Indian IT professionals mainly followed self-regulatory recovery practices to manage the negative outcomes of HWI. However, Indian IT professionals perceived that their organisations offer limited wellness-oriented programmes. Importantly, Indian IT employees expect organisations to provide a psychologically safe work environment, a supportive work culture, a fair and transparent reward and appraisal system, supportive leadership, open communication and participatory management practices to address unmet needs in order to manage the negative outcomes resulting from HWI. Originality/value This research contributes to the HWI literature beyond the Western context and provides qualitative, context-specific insights into the underexplored Indian IT context, proposing a research framework for further empirical testing. The novelty of this research lies in exploring how Indian IT professionals experience and manage HWI at the individual and organisational levels. Further, this research identified current practices and unmet expectations among employees in the Indian IT context.