The rash of suicides by software professionals has raised the question of why and what drives educated software workers to resort to such violent acts? Answers are not that simple but at the same time can be pinned down to multiple factors that could coerce highly skilled persons to such desperate acts.
“Suicides are a cry for help, and these suicides that we are witnessing are copycat suicides. They are happening because the victims are lonely and depressed and do not have a channel to vent out their pent-up emotions. They don’t even get enough time to interact and communicate with family members and the opposite sex,” says senior neuro-psychiatrist Dr. G. Prasad Rao.
No time for family
With almost all software employees putting 12 to 14 hours of office work on daily basis, psychiatrists point out that they get hardly any time to build relationships and nurture them. “After long hours in office, they go home and simply sleep. In weekends, they mostly take rest and hardly go out with family. Their peer group also entirely consists of software workers, and there is no variety. Couples in software companies struggle in building relationships because they hardly get time, and this makes them lonely and depressed,” Dr. Prasad explains.
Psychiatrists also maintain that there is a clear break in husband-wife relationship among software professionals in Hyderabad.
“Typically, in such families, both have jobs and usually, the wife is independent. On occasions, such a situation leads to ego clashes. There is a communication break down in the relationship. Both become impulsive, and there is a lot of substance abuse like alcohol. The stress of work, sedentary lifestyle and no time for relationships are a heady cocktail that makes them take the extreme step,” explains Dr. S.R.R.Y. Srinivas, Associate Professor, Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda. M. Sai Gopal
