Where was the BPO industry when we were growing up?

I tell you...the BPO industry is growing at an enormous pace here in India.

In case you dont know what BPO is, it stands for Business Process Outsourcing. When large organisations realise that they have more people in their backend operations than they have in their core business, they outsource these non-business-critical (or sometimes NOT) functions to companies who specialize in these activities.

What that has resulted in India is an explosion of call centers manned by young 20-somethings who have found a great way to make money right after finishing college (or NOT). A direct outcome of this is a lot of young people with a lot of cash to blow.

While I am not against young people having a lot of money to freak out, I have my reservations. This access to money so early in life, I feel, makes these people to lose sight of the simple fact that there is life beyond being a call center operator. So, instead of learning skills which may take these people to better & brighter futures, the lure of currency is a strong distraction for these people. What I fear is they will end up as a bunch of angry & miserable 30-somethings if they carry on.

Another "distraction" (no pun intended here) for a lot of these people here is the number of people of the opposite sex working with them for the same long hours. These are the people they spend more than half their lives with in office & maybe more after office hours. The proximity of so many like minded people does push a lot of people, lonely or otherwise, down the path towards intimacy.

Recently, The Register (a site which I like both for their incisive journalism and witty commentary) and the India Times reported this:

"For many BPO employees, the office space is not just a professional domain.
Instead, it symbolises one's personal space, thanks to long hours being spent in
office. From making friends to cultivating relationships, BPO units are slowly
becoming hubs where inter-personal bonding takes place. And it comes as little
surprise that many also give vent to their sexual urges in the office space."

Whoa! What the hell was I thinking when I was studying to get some decent job? The perks on this one just cannot be matched!

A recently published report in a local newspaper mentioned a BPO (name not disclosed, obviously) had to get it's drainage system fixed due to excessive number of condoms being flushed down the toilets.

Now if I was growing up in today's BPO-dominated India and had just passed out of college, what job could have offered me the chance to earn money & get laid at the same time?

The temptation is too great.

All I can say is... earning a salary which pays me to listen patiently to irate customers & having carnal knowledge of a collegue (or more) on the side does not sound like a bad idea. But I would rather sit in my cosy office & blog about it.

Way to go, BPO!