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Some IT companies in India check your bags "for security purposes" while coming in/going out, or both. Yes, very disrespectful and insulting, but no one revolts

Some IT companies in India check your bags "for security purposes" while coming in/going out, or both. Yes, very disrespectful and insulting, but no one revolts so it's been going on (while their HRs will give powerpoint presentations on how trust is "one of the pillars" of their company). Most of them have a (probably made-up) story of how it was not the case before but someone broke their trust by stealing code in a hard disk etc., but no one has actually seen that happening in-person. Our software product company (headquartered in US) had the same policy in its Indian offices, and I (being a relatively new employee) last year pointed out in our surveys how hypocritical it is of the company to expect trust from the employees but not do the same in return. Fortunately they stopped doing it after that.

shripadk 8y ago
This has nothing to do with trust. One terror attack and the employees and their families would be getting back at the management for lax security and having made the big mistake of trusting their lives with the company. Workplace violence is a thing and it's better for everyone to go through security checks than risk liability. You never know how, when or why someone snaps (however mentally stable s/he was during recruitment). And if you think it's impossible for something like that to happen, just take a look at what happened at YouTube HQ few months ago.
- okmokmz 8y ago
  I really hope this is sarcasm... You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? How many IT workers are there in the country, how many attacks have occurred in IT offices, and how many attacks have been prevented by searching employees bags? Giving up personal liberties and freedoms out of unsubstantiated fears based on a few fringe cases is a slippery slope. Also, I highly doubt that's what the policy is even about. The person you are replying to is probably correct that the policy is an attempt to prevent employees from leaving with company data
  - pravinva 8y ago
    It's like the TSA- Security theatre, not security that's being sold here
  - shripadk 8y ago
    How do you prevent employees from leaving with company data if one copies all the sensitive data onto a pen drive? Does security check the pen drives too? It's actually ridiculous to cast aspersion on the security when their job is to prevent threats. > You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? How many IT workers are there in the country, how many attacks have occurred in IT offices, and how many attacks have been prevented by searching employees bags? It just takes one attack to lose a loved one and put a family in complete disarray. In India there have been multiple terror threats to software companies in the past decade alone. You forget that the agencies work 24/7 preventing terror plots and if even one of them slips through it would be disaster for everyone involved. Multi layered security is the only way to thwart terror plots. Here are few examples: 1. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-terror-plot-against-infy-in-mysore-busted-1060458 http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-terror-plot-against-inf... 2. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/05blore.htm http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/05blore.htm 3. https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/infosys-wipro-get-terror-threats-36574-2009-01-04 https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/infosys-wip... You can use logic and statistics to argue about probability of terror threats but none of your statistics takes into account the mental health or the radical motivation of an individual/group. > I really hope this is sarcasm... You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? EDIT: I am not being sarcastic. I am being a realist. In an ideal world I wouldn't want any sort of security. But we don't live in an ideal world.
    - icebraining 8y ago
      So, from your links, nobody was actually killed by terrorists, nor has a security guard actually stopped any terrorist. Meanwhile, you know who actually has killed Infosys employees? A security guard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9MenY2dEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9MenY2dEs

shripadk 8y ago

This has nothing to do with trust. One terror attack and the employees and their families would be getting back at the management for lax security and having made the big mistake of trusting their lives with the company. Workplace violence is a thing and it's better for everyone to go through security checks than risk liability. You never know how, when or why someone snaps (however mentally stable s/he was during recruitment). And if you think it's impossible for something like that to happen, just take a look at what happened at YouTube HQ few months ago.

okmokmz 8y ago
I really hope this is sarcasm... You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? How many IT workers are there in the country, how many attacks have occurred in IT offices, and how many attacks have been prevented by searching employees bags? Giving up personal liberties and freedoms out of unsubstantiated fears based on a few fringe cases is a slippery slope. Also, I highly doubt that's what the policy is even about. The person you are replying to is probably correct that the policy is an attempt to prevent employees from leaving with company data
- pravinva 8y ago
  It's like the TSA- Security theatre, not security that's being sold here
- shripadk 8y ago
  How do you prevent employees from leaving with company data if one copies all the sensitive data onto a pen drive? Does security check the pen drives too? It's actually ridiculous to cast aspersion on the security when their job is to prevent threats. > You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? How many IT workers are there in the country, how many attacks have occurred in IT offices, and how many attacks have been prevented by searching employees bags? It just takes one attack to lose a loved one and put a family in complete disarray. In India there have been multiple terror threats to software companies in the past decade alone. You forget that the agencies work 24/7 preventing terror plots and if even one of them slips through it would be disaster for everyone involved. Multi layered security is the only way to thwart terror plots. Here are few examples: 1. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-terror-plot-against-infy-in-mysore-busted-1060458 http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-terror-plot-against-inf... 2. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/05blore.htm http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jan/05blore.htm 3. https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/infosys-wipro-get-terror-threats-36574-2009-01-04 https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/infosys-wip... You can use logic and statistics to argue about probability of terror threats but none of your statistics takes into account the mental health or the radical motivation of an individual/group. > I really hope this is sarcasm... You think it's appropriate for every employee to be searched before entering a facility because there might be a "terror attack"? EDIT: I am not being sarcastic. I am being a realist. In an ideal world I wouldn't want any sort of security. But we don't live in an ideal world.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    So, from your links, nobody was actually killed by terrorists, nor has a security guard actually stopped any terrorist. Meanwhile, you know who actually has killed Infosys employees? A security guard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9MenY2dEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN9MenY2dEs