Aegis BPO warns drug pushers and takers
By Pulkit Sharma

A small percentage of young men and women have always experimented with soft drugs since the swinging seventies. For most,  it was during the freedom and liberal atmosphere at University.  Most tuned out of such experimentation,  and went on mainstream careers and suburbia.  With the advent of the cash-rich,  liberal BPO and IT culture,   soft drugs have taken hard roots in the lifestyle of a small minority, and gradually becoming more socially acceptable.

Every month,  there are stories circulating around on how in some BPO’s in Bangalore there is a small ‘smoking section’ reserved for Agents who want to have a quick drag before putting on a fake American accent to answer the mortgage query.  But there has never been any concrete proof or research study done to quantify the problem.

Does Aegis have a more serious problem with drugs as compared to other BPO’s?  If management initiatives are any indication, it would certainly seem so.

On June 12, Aegis BPO (more than 10 thousand employees and well on its way to becoming a $500 million dollar company) in any email to all employees confirmed how worried they were about this problem. In an email titled ‘Message from our COO, Mr. Sudhir Agarwal’, Aegis BPO spoke about a ‘Zero tolerance on drugs and alcohol at workplace’. 

The email sent by Aegis COO,  Sudhir Agarwal, to all Aegis BPO Agents (and leaked to techgoss)  reads.

“Aegis is committed to achieving a safe, healthy, working environment for all employees.  To protect the health and safety of all individuals affected by our activities,  as well as the communities in which we operate,  it is important to highlight that possession, use or selling of drugs and alcohol in the  Aegis office premises is strictly prohibited.   The consequences of any such behavior by employees will be severe and may result in expulsion from employment.  In a few recent incidents, some of our employees have been accused and terminated on these grounds.

No employee shall present themselves for work, resume duties, or during work consume alcohol or other drugs except where the drug is legally prescribed by a doctor for treating a medical condition”

Techgoss note:  A similar email warning was sent to all Aegis employees on April 24, 2008.