Mindtree techies worry over work culture shift as L&T takes charge

While the leadership change in Mindtree is yet to happen, there’s a buzz that the co-founders of the IT firm may float another company.

For most Mindtree employees, it’s business as usual on the main campus in Bengaluru despite the company going through a change of ownership.

The only concern for them is whether L&T, with majority control, will maintain the work culture of Mindtree or try to impose its own on this mid-tier information technology firm.

“I am not thinking about job security. The only thing that bothers me is whether the work culture which I enjoy in Mindtree will continue under the new promoter or not,” said a 20-something IT engineer who’s worked with Mindtree for about 18 months.

His concern is linked to his earlier stint at Convergys, which got acquired by Concentrix.

“There’s no disruption in work. We are working in our projects as we used to,” said another techie taking a tea break near the parking lot at Mindtree’s Global Village Tech Park campus.

According to many employees Business Standard interacted with, the firm has a flexible and informal work atmosphere unlike some of its peers.

For example, it has no strict punching in time.

Also, Mindtree expects its employees to put in around seven hours of work in office instead of at least nine in many rival firms.

“In my previous job with a tier-I IT firm, which had 9.15 hours of office time, salary used to be deducted for any delay,’’ said another engineer.

According to him, apart from the time flexibility, changing projects is also relatively easy at Mindtree.

Employees can change projects if they don’t like to work for it, he added.

In the first ever hostile takeover in the domestic IT industry, L&T has acquired a controlling stake of around 60 per cent in Mindtree, resulting in the exit of the company’s co-founders from the board and executive roles.

While the leadership change in Mindtree is yet to happen, there’s a buzz that the co-founders of the IT firm may float another company following the footprints of Ashok Soota.

In 2011, Soota left Mindtree to set up 'Happiest Minds'.

‘’I joined in 2011 and I remember how so many staff of Mindtree had quit and joined Soota at that time.

"If the current co-founders float their own firm, we can hope for more jobs in the industry," said a  team lead in Mindtree.

Photograph: Courtesy, Business Standard