Benching H1B Employees - Trend explained and myths debunked

Employers hire H1B talent, especially IT professionals with dreams of making it big in the US. However, all is not easy in the land of opportunities as most H1B professionals are not immediately put on projects. Benching is a common term used by IT companies when they put their employees on a temporary period of stasis due to unavailability of work within the organization or lack of clients for the company to justify resource deployment.

Should you be worried about being benched?

Being on the bench for too long is not only going to bore you to death but also is a sign of no career progress. Spending a good amount of time on the bench puts you at a disadvantage over your peers at your next appraisal meet. Also, you might lose touch in a tool or coding due to lack of practice. Benching also puts you in the crosshairs of the HR should are always looking for efficient ways of talent management.

So, in short YES! You should be worried about being on the bench for too long.

What should you do?

Horne your IT skills in the free time you get. Join an online course and update your knowledge to the latest technology in your field of expertise. Stay in touch with your skills by doing mock projects. Present these projects to your handler and ensure they know what you are capable of. The company should be aware that they are not utilizing your talent and this will speed up the process of assigning a project to you.

Try helping your peers who are into projects. This way you get an idea of what awaits you and also get a parallel knowledge of how things work within the organization. Make sure you are busy and ensure people know that you are busy on something.

What shouldn't you do?

Never sulk around in a corner of the office or laze around for long hours just because you do not have regular tasks to carry out. Never be seen playing games on your phone or being loud and disturbing others in the office who have regular tasks with real deadlines. Do not punch in/log into your office and leave all day. Your handlers will be noticing your every move even when on the bench.

In case you decide to be productively pro-active when on the bench, do not go around and pester people on the job to teach you. Look for the right time to approach them for help or to know more about their process. Some sensitive jobs handled by IT firms do not allow certain workers to share info outside the team, more so with an employee on the bench. Do not intrude while your peers are dealing with such information.

Should you look for a change?

You can try to find H1B transfer sponsors in the US while on the bench. This will not only keep you busy and motivated but once you get an opportunity, your current employer might try to retain you and put you onto a project soon.

Stay motivated when on the bench and never lose the plot. The organization might not need your talent but you need to keep yourself sharp to excel in your career.