There was an audit session from the client at my office today. And an hour later, they decided to hold an impromptu award ceremony, to honor all the people who'd given a lot of themselves to the company. And when I say 'themselves', I do so for a reason.
So when I walked in today after lunch, my floor was blocked by this large screen on which was running some advertisement about the client's product. The director cracked a joke on how much the actors in the ad loved the product, and the people on the floor burst into laughter as if on cue.
I don't say that it was wrong of the client to honor the people who've worked so hard.. It was indeed very generous and appreciative of them. What I found - disturbing - was the reason why the employees had been honored. What about them that had been appreciated.
There was one thin, reedy fellow in thick glasses who won an award because he was very hard-working. How hard-working? He worked the night shift till 2AM every night, starting from 12 noon. And the lady (company lady, not client) who announced the award said that he'd been with them for a couple years and what she appreciated about him was that if they needed him anytime, they'd call him, and he'd be in office by 7AM again.And that this happened about 4-5 times a week.
I mean, how many working days ARE there in a week?!
I didn't feel envious of the guy's award. I didn't feel that the client was praising him for his hard work. I didn't feel that the applause he got was appreciatory. I thought it very mocking of him.
Th man was so thin, so sallow, so weak-ish. He had dark circles under his eyes and a stoop in his back. And yet, he couldn't have been more than 30.
Doesn't he have a life? People to go home to? Friends to hang out with?Places to visit? Why is he condemned to spending the majority of his life to a company which can replace him in an instant if required to?
I don't like to be at work after 6, i start to feel suffocated, and anxious to be home to my family. I start to miss my friends and fret that time, quality time, that could be spent with my loved ones is getting wasted. I feel unhappy if my husband is stuck at work after 7. I worry about his health, and if he's eaten anything since lunch. I missed my sister if she wasn't home on time. I'd wonder how much longer she'd be away at work.
Yes, of course, there are times when you have to be at work after hours. There might be a client visit, or a deadline, or an important corporate requirement. There might even be times you have to work continuously late for weeks together.
But the day this 'weeks' start to turn into 'months', you have to realize that something is very wrong in your life.
At the end of the ceremony, the director asked in general of the people, 'How do you like working with Alex?' and the reply was an uncomfortable laugh. I'm not surprised. Alex has single-handed-ly managed to ruin his own life an cast the rest of his colleagues in a blanket lazy-image.
Why else would an employee who's at her desk by 9 every morning, very hard-working and dedicated, full of initiatives and always ready to help others, at work till 5 in the evening, yet, be ignored? And nope, it's not me i'm talking about.
Really, the work culture in India needs to go through a re-vamp!!!
So when I walked in today after lunch, my floor was blocked by this large screen on which was running some advertisement about the client's product. The director cracked a joke on how much the actors in the ad loved the product, and the people on the floor burst into laughter as if on cue.
I don't say that it was wrong of the client to honor the people who've worked so hard.. It was indeed very generous and appreciative of them. What I found - disturbing - was the reason why the employees had been honored. What about them that had been appreciated.
There was one thin, reedy fellow in thick glasses who won an award because he was very hard-working. How hard-working? He worked the night shift till 2AM every night, starting from 12 noon. And the lady (company lady, not client) who announced the award said that he'd been with them for a couple years and what she appreciated about him was that if they needed him anytime, they'd call him, and he'd be in office by 7AM again.And that this happened about 4-5 times a week.
I mean, how many working days ARE there in a week?!
I didn't feel envious of the guy's award. I didn't feel that the client was praising him for his hard work. I didn't feel that the applause he got was appreciatory. I thought it very mocking of him.
Th man was so thin, so sallow, so weak-ish. He had dark circles under his eyes and a stoop in his back. And yet, he couldn't have been more than 30.
Doesn't he have a life? People to go home to? Friends to hang out with?Places to visit? Why is he condemned to spending the majority of his life to a company which can replace him in an instant if required to?
I don't like to be at work after 6, i start to feel suffocated, and anxious to be home to my family. I start to miss my friends and fret that time, quality time, that could be spent with my loved ones is getting wasted. I feel unhappy if my husband is stuck at work after 7. I worry about his health, and if he's eaten anything since lunch. I missed my sister if she wasn't home on time. I'd wonder how much longer she'd be away at work.
Yes, of course, there are times when you have to be at work after hours. There might be a client visit, or a deadline, or an important corporate requirement. There might even be times you have to work continuously late for weeks together.
But the day this 'weeks' start to turn into 'months', you have to realize that something is very wrong in your life.
At the end of the ceremony, the director asked in general of the people, 'How do you like working with Alex?' and the reply was an uncomfortable laugh. I'm not surprised. Alex has single-handed-ly managed to ruin his own life an cast the rest of his colleagues in a blanket lazy-image.
Why else would an employee who's at her desk by 9 every morning, very hard-working and dedicated, full of initiatives and always ready to help others, at work till 5 in the evening, yet, be ignored? And nope, it's not me i'm talking about.
Really, the work culture in India needs to go through a re-vamp!!!
There are certain aspects to it. It majorly crops in because of the competition we have. Not to forget that when we say we work from 9 to 5, do we actually work all 8 hours ? if yes then it is correct.
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