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, the Teaneck, NJ-headquartered IT services firm with 200,000 employees and the bulk of its development operations in India, found that its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs motivate employees to perform better in the workplace. A survey revealed that over half of Cognizant’s employees volunteering in various CSR programs displayed improved workplace performance. Nearly all of them felt their activities created a sense of pride about their employer as well as their teams.

The IT sector in India, a country with the world’s largest numbers of citizens living in poverty as well as millions of undernourished children, is seen to be furthering the wealth divide. Even as its entrepreneur billionaires and its well-paid workers are under increasing public scrutiny, IT firms have raced to undertake meaningful CSR programs to fulfil ethical obligations and salve their social conscience.

It is only recently that these firms are waking to the fact that CSR activities do not just impact the communities around them but also help the organization and its employees directly. CSR initiatives are turning out to be a significant retention tool in a sector where attrition has been a big bane, hovering around the high double-digits in some firms.