Ethics management and social responsibility in Romanian IT industry (I) - Possible improvements of working conditions

Abstract

The main purpose of this article was to investigate, using the tools of qualitative research, the working conditions for Romanians working in the IT industry, and to assess their level of professional and social responsibility. According to recent research, jobs tend to be more and more polarized. We now have what we might call “bad jobs” and “good jobs” (Kalleberg, 2012). The Romanian IT sector was considered – from the perspective of public policy – a revolutionary sector where intelligence and innovation would lead to social progress. The public discourse framing this sector, the policies regulating this sector, and the relatively high wages would lead to the conclusion that these are “good jobs”. Our goal is to analyze, with scientific rigor, the working conditions in this sector by using the characteristics that are currently used at the level of the European Union to assess the quality of working life. The conclusions of our study would require further interpretations and suggestions in order to to bring about an improvement of the working conditions in this sector, as well as to address the lack of labour unions and of ethics management in Romanian IT industry.