Dedicated to all the employed people!
Almost a year back, I happened to watch the
trailer of a movie and it had me in splits. The movie was called “Go, Goa,
Gone” and the trailer had this very catchy song in it. The best part of the
song was it’s lyrics. The song went something like “…Bloody Khooni Monday Tu
Aya Khoon Choosne”. The lyricist seemed to have struck the right chord with the
‘office going’ junta (It could very well be the anthem for the lot, had there
been one!). I wonder if he had consulted some of his ‘office going’ buddies
before penning the lyrics, or had he also been one?
Monday, for most employees, is the most
dreaded day in a week. Everyone has their own reasons, for why they hate
Mondays. Many would not have got enough of their weekend, when the alarm goes
off on a Monday morning, signaling the start of yet another week at work. For
many who had escaped to the comforts of their homes for the weekend, it is the
thought of leaving their home and their loved ones behind, and of course, the
heavenly home food, which troubles them the most. And when one actually manages
to drag their feet into office on a Monday, what awaits us? One of our greatest
nemesis, which goes by the name “Weekly Review” – An analysis of what went well
the previous week, what did not go very well the previous week, and what needs
to be done in the coming week so that everything goes well. (Well, thank God
for the movie ‘3 Idiots’ and the ‘All is Well’ mantra, saying that many times
during these reviews helps!) Before we know it, the review is over, everyone is
back at their workstations, ready to be taken away into a magical world of data
created by Microsoft, thanks to the software giant’s Office applications. The
phone starts buzzing, calls pour in, you answer some, and you miss some. The
mails start popping up, you answer some, forward some, ignore some. Lunch
breaks always get postponed; you consider yourself lucky if you get a chance to
have lunch on time. Before you know it, it is evening, and you realize, you have
hardly struck one or two items off your ‘To-Do’ list. Well, that’s a feeling
akin to the one that students get during their exams in school and college days,
when the bell rings before the last thirty minutes of the exam, and they
realize they have not even finished answering half of the question paper. Some
work late into the night and get their backlogs cleared, some leave it for the
next day, in the hope that, the next day would be different. It is the same old
story the next day – the calls, the e-mails and Microsoft, and the
ever-expanding ‘To-Do’ list. We manage to get ourselves through the five days
of the week, and we are rewarded with a much needed break in the form of a
Saturday and Sunday. Even before we know it, the “Khoony Monday” is back!
Well one might ask, if Mondays are so
deadly, work is so tiresome, why do employees work? Why can’t they just call it
quits? Well, the answer differs from person to person. Had I been asked the
reason why I work, despite of the fact that I dread Mondays, or for that matter
any working day in a week, I would say that, to me my job is not just a job,
it’s a way of life. I like to call it the “30/31” way of life. My job is what
defines me, it is what makes me feel good about myself, it is what gives me the
freedom to live life on my own terms, it is what helps me take very good care
of my family. I have heard married women say, “I do not need a job, as my
husband earns a pretty good salary every month”. I have heard men say, “I quit
my job because it was not what I am passionate about. I will find one sooner or
later”. Are they right? Maybe yes, but, I like to believe that there is more to
a job than the salary you earn or the work you do. A job gives you
opportunities to interact with different kinds of people. It helps you learn
how to manage relationships, learn how to work together to achieve results,
learn how best to react to different situations, learn new skills while
developing your existing skills. How often have you found yourself searching
for topics to talk about when you meet a friend of yours who is a homemaker or
a friend who is not working? Not everyone gets a job that one is passionate
about, but is quitting the only way out. The true heroes are the ones who have
it in them to do their job with utmost sincerity, even if the job is not of
their liking, but at the same time, keep searching for what one is truly
passionate about.
I talked about a lot of things about work,
but I saved the best part for the last. The best thing about being employed (no
prizes for guessing this) is that last day of the month. I have seen the most
morose of the morose people at work too all smiles on this particular day of
the month. Money, is an important factor, but it is not the only thing that
makes one happy on the 30th or the 31st of a month. It
brings along with it a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that can drown
away the weariness of all the “Freaking” Fridays and the dreadfulness of all
the “Khoony” Mondays of the month. It makes you feel so good about yourself,
that you can even shout it out from the rooftops and tell the whole world that
you feel good, sorry great!
As I sign off this blog, the last day of
the month is here. I have already made plans to take my parents out for a
dinner at our favorite restaurant and then for a walk alongside the backwaters
at Marine Drive (love you Cochin for Marine Drive and for the back waters!). The
main purpose is to spend quality time with them, but there is also a very
selfish intention behind it. It is also my way of silently saying “Sorry” for
all the times I told my mother, “Amma, I am busy, I will talk to you later” or my
father, “I have told you not to call me during office hours” or “I will call you
back” and then forget to call them back due to the work at office. The “30/31”
way of life is not without its own set of demerits, you see. However I am sure
my parents will understand, because they too have led the “30/31” way of life
once.
Cheers to the last day of the month!
Celebrate it with your family and friends and make your favorite day of the month, your family's and friends' favorite too!
