ashokbhatia

Oh, how we love our office, our place of work, the pedestal of our self,
The adrenalin, the morning rush, the smug comfort of power and pelf.

The ego kick, the pampering, the earmarked parking place,
The welcoming smiles, the handshakes, the feigned grace.

The ambition for the corner office, mighty challenges, charged meetings,
Naysayers and villains who oppose us and spice up the proceedings.

Bosses who are supportive but cranky at times; never satisfied, they whine;
Peers who keep us connected to the corporate gossip and the grapevine.

Juniors who adore us, others who detest us but lie low,
The fun of pulling them up when they show up after a furlough.

The pressure of work, the fun and frolic, the humor, the glee,
The water cooler parley, intimate chats over endless cups of tea.

For the henpecked amongst us, the freedom from the fiefdom of a spouse,
Liberty from kids’ PTA meetings, household chores and many an odd grouse.

Vacations planned in advance often getting scuttled at the last hour,
Sulking family members, cancellation costs, well laid out plans turning sour.

When a vacation plan does mature, it is preceded by hectic planning,
Ensuring the world does not collapse while we are away snorkeling.

‘Keeping in touch’ while on vacation a misplaced sense of one-way loyalty,
A habit, an addiction, a magnified view of our role which could be faulty.

Return finds us facing a pile of tasks, an overflowing mail box to grapple with,
Unwarranted blames having come our way, we resolve never to plan a vacation forthwith.

Oh, the yearning for a real vacation, freedom from the torrent of mails,
Quality time with the family, regaling kids with impromptu tales.

All this makes better sense when our on-the-job performance is going on well,
Or else we could be languishing in the low-performance-and-low-reward hell.

Yet, how about offices where we can take an ‘off’ while being present, filling up the gaps,
A gym, a yoga and meditation room, an allowance for post-lunch power naps.

An environment which keeps our creative juices flowing, our stress levels healthy and vibrant,
Our performance at its peak, productivity high, imagination always fragrant.

Companies like Daimler which allow a real ‘off’ from office would win in the long run,
Incoming mails diverted, deleted from our in-box, allowing us to have real fun.

Some others encourage us to lead a rich personal life, switching off after normal working hours,
Enabling a healthier work-life balance, assigning projects which make us walk out of our ivory towers.

The ones which encourage us to put out an out-of-office message which changes tack,
“Hi, I am on the Mars these days, missing Wi-Fi or cell signal, shall get in touch once I am back!”

(Note: For an interesting perspective on the vanishing office spaces, see http://paulbromford.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/why-the-death-of-the-office-cant-come-too-soon)

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