Is it really possible to be happy at work?

I’ve always wondered if it’s really possible to be happy at work. What are the factors that make going to work worthwhile, other than our work? I know all of us have different reasons for going to work. It could be for a living, for having something to do, to beat boredom, to not hang around at home all the time, well it could be just about anything. But how many of us actually go to work because we love what we do and want to keep on doing it everyday?
I’ve come to realise that when most of us take up a job, we assume it’s the right one. And if we don’t like it we have no qualms about changing the employer, while we decide to stick to the functional area we think is apt for us. But what happens if you do the same kind of job, maybe for different employers and not realise that it’s not the job that you will have to change but your career? A bad job can ruin your peace of mind. So what do you think would be the right thing to do? Stick around and rot or get proactive and move on and ahead?

There’s certainly an opportunity at every nook and cranny…

Opportunities at every click – that’s an old ClickJobs advt that has remained etched in my memory. I’ve always wondered if that is really possible when you take the larger picture of life into consideration—to be able to find an interesting opportunity at every turn. I think one should be an opportunist for this to be true.
And why shouldn’t one be an opportunist anyway. After all today’s career demands that one is an opportunist, proactively seeking to find and get hold of what they are looking for. Sit back and assume that life will work out; things will come to the one who works and shuts out the world and you can kiss your career progression good-bye.
I think it’s bad to be a downright selfish opportunist who won’t think twice to walk over someone to get what they want. If someone is focused and wants to achieve what he aspires for, it would be better he works hard towards achieving what he wants, while keeping a close watch of what is happening around and how he can make use of the situation to his advantage without crushing someone else’s dreams or without taking credit for someone else’s toil.
Look at what Agnes Olubunmi Amos did with her life after recession snatched her of her job. Agnes was disheartened just like all the other professionals who lost their jobs, but she did what no one else would have thought of doing and turned her life around and created her own opportunity for a living. Jotting down her fears, prayers, hopes and experiences in her personal diary everyday as she searched for a job without success, Agnes later realized that her personal thoughts can become a book that can give solace to millions like her. And that was how – “The Journey of a Christian Job Seeker” was born. A hit in the US, the Indian edition of the book hit the stands in September this year.
Nothing but sheer grit and determination to survive could have urged Agnes on, but what is commendable is the way she found an opportunity even in her everyday musings. Now who would have thought of that!
As Alexander Graham Bell once quoted– “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Agnes’ progress was certainly stunted by recession but not for long since she did not let that bog down her spirit. What is really admirable is the opportunity that she was willing to see in something that most of us would have considered a pointless endeavour.
Well, I’m sure if all of us keep our eyes wide open it wouldn’t be difficult to see an opportunity in everything too. And it’s high time we started doing just that.

A friend at work…. Is that a necessity?

A recent employee experience at work survey done at my organisation was an eye-opener of sorts, especially the questions pertaining to camaraderie at work. I can’t be sure about the results but it did make me wonder about the friends that we make at work. After all we spend most of our day at work so isn’t it logical enough to connect and bond with peers?
A lot of survey results about life at work talks about the need to have at least one friend at work since it is supposed to make work more interesting. Some skeptics even reasoned out with me that if you love what you do, what is the need for a friend? After all you go to work to work and not to socialise. A valid point, I do agree but isn’t it true that all work and no play can make Jack a dull boy, dull and cynical to say the least.
Though there are certain jobs that demand you’re engaged throughout the day, a little diversion hurt no one. Be it going out for a smoke or for lunch, I’ve realised that being a loner can be tedious. I remember a time when my friend at work had to quit for personal reasons, leaving me clueless for a week. Even though I knew about it I was not prepared when it actually happened. Every time I wanted to do something I used to wonder if I should just go alone or join a group of people who looked at least remotely my type (you can picture ‘almost nerdy’ me feeling lost).
However my friend’s leaving had an advantage. I started talking to more people and didn’t focus my non-working time socialising with just one of my colleagues. Which I trust gave me a more combined perspective of events at work and also my work. When you have a few more people’s perceptions on some of your break-through ideas, it can help you gain firmer traction, since it lightens the environment.
This is my view since I sure have seen it work many a times, simplifying things tremendously. But forget about discussing work, isn’t it true that friends make work enjoyable just like the times when you survived through a boring lecture in college when you had friends to laugh away your boredom with?
Your current job should be your calling at least that is what it should be, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get immersed in it. But, you can’t deny the fact that a good hearty laugh can be a great way to distress when things are not going your way. And when you have friends at work who can take your mind off it for some time, I do believe it wouldn’t be difficult to get back to work rejuvenated.
After all when you know you have someone to keep you company, even a boring workday can seem bearable. I’m happy I have a big gang of friends at work. I definitely love what I do (if you don’t, find a job you’d love) but there are times when nothing can be more relaxing than being surrounded by colleagues who’ve become friends.

Employee Empowerment

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about organisations talking about empowering their employees that I’m starting to wonder if it is actually taken seriously and practiced at all! What does this term mean anyway! Does it mean that the organisation trusts its employees implicitly enough to let them shoulder more responsibilities?
A friend of mine works at an organisation where they take the whole empowerment thing quite seriously. He gets to go for some real fancy workshops ever so often and is taught the basics of taking decisions (as if he doesn’t know how to do that already). Well, I can help but wonder what’s the point in attending multiple workshops, getting all excited, waiting to get to work to implement those ideas, only to be told you’re not really allowed to do that?
Almost everyone in an organisation has a reporting head so it is expected to report your decision or your actions, which invariably gets thumped down by kind and understanding words. Yet I do agree that there are times (a lot of times) when you think a particular idea might work wonders only to be told that it will not; and surprisingly it is true. I’ve gone through that a few times myself when I thought I’d come up with a new break-through solution only to be told its not really break-through, but you know what, when you have the idea tossed around and get an opinion, even you’ll realize it was a dud. But does that mean that your ideas can be pushed down everyday or every time?
Empowerment is a necessity to ensure evolvement and the personal growth of individuals. However how organisations go about achieving this is what can create more value. Knowing that your decisions are trusted can certainly boost anyone’s morale and add to it functional or operational responsibilities and you can be more than sure of an increased feeling of self-worth.
Keeping a close watch of subordinates is what happens most often. A good manager on the other hand should be willing to let go of certain responsibilities and test the capacity of their subordinates if their sincerely hoping to empower people. Overseeing functions is one, but offering sufficient freedom to implement ideas can go a long way in building the morale of the team. And as organisations strive to expand and grow it is more than necessary today to strengthen their foundational structure – their employees to ensure that their organisational strategies sail through tough times.

Employee Retention

Can employees be made to stay by stringent rules? Or can peanuts as compensation induce people to work and be productive? Fine I think I’m going overboard, but it cannot be denied that strict adherence to grating rules has become the norm of the day in several companies, but about peanuts, I’ve realised that as human beings we’ll never be completely satisfied with anything! Well, I’ve seen that there are companies where the compensation structure is way below the widely accepted scale but more often than not our salaries do match the industry standards or the actual effort that we put in! I know there are always exceptions to every case and there will be a lot in this too but salaries are not what I have in mind right now.
From what I’ve seen, I’ve realised that not all organisations have a foolproof plan when it comes to making their employees stay around for long. After all employees are any company’s fundamental asset but how many organisations actually manage to have them till retirement? Okay, nowadays no one plans to grow old with the organisation they had begun their career with, but statistics prove that proportionately only a handful even cross the five-year mark. With growing global competition almost every organisation today has revised its new compensation structures to entice the best of the talent pool. However not all manage to keep them for long. At the end of the day all of them fall short someway or another, creating quite a drain of talented, experienced personnel, incurring huge losses. So what could be the reason why this seems to be on the rise? When the outsourcing boom hit India I remember the frenzied recruitment initiatives that scoured the length and breadth of the country. BPOs made people feel that only the best would be selected and yes it did seem that way till after about a year or two later when the retention issues started to surface. Employee retention and ways to curtail outflow became quite a common topic for discussion. With experts lending their advice, organisations did start paying more attention to keeping their employees happy. But were they successful? I think a handful were but in country that holds the pride of place amongst the outsourcing nations, Indian organisations, interestingly not even one of them feature in the top 50 of employee friendly companies in the world.
It is a basic truth that happy employees make more productive organisations and stay put longer. But what will make an employee happy? Is it compensation, work-life balance, organisational culture, employee morale and the steps companies take to boosting that or more leniency? Well, a lot of factors go into keeping an employee happy, the crux is to find the right balance and ensure that the organisation sticks to those resolutions. There are certainly a million ways in which an organisation can keep its staff engaged and interested. Empowering employees is definitely one of them. But how many of them actually take pains to practice it? Boredom has become a fairly common sentiment amongst most employees today. Yes, career gurus are quick to point out that if you’re following your dreams and doing what you love and actually want to do, you can never feel bored and insignificant at work. But even a layman would agree that sometimes it is not only doing what you love but also how you are made to feel at the place where you do what you love that can be a defining factor in your future at and with that organisation.
There certainly is no dearth of ideas when it comes to making employees feel wanted, respected and making them stay around longer, but what remains to be seen is how many organisations actually implement them.

Fatherhood and Work

I just read an article addressing the now growing concern of fathers, who feel they are not able to spend as much time with their children as much as they’d love. It was great to know that for a change people are waking up to the “male angle” to family and life balance.
Well, as far as I remember there have been scores of debates and discussions about the pangs of women who have to cut corners trying to balance work and familial responsibilities. And also the concerns of employers who’ve felt that women tend to put their family first, which I think would end soon with people waking up to the fact that even men prefer to go back home to their kids as much as women.
I think a shift in perspective would certainly not hurt anyone, especially today when we find employers stringently holding on to policies on leave and working hours that it seems to be a getting a tad out of hand in a lot of cases. What with certain organisations incorporating the necessity to clock in and out even during toilet or smoking breaks. I do agree that the latter is not really a life-threatening necessity but are not people allowed to do something that can relieve a lot of stress and widen perspectives?
Jokes apart, though it is understood that policy makers are striving to build more efficient workplaces and improve productivity it is quite debatable how that can be achieved by forcing people to stick to timelines.
Anyway now let’s overlook that for the time being. Coming to fact of removing the gender bias that women constantly suffer when it comes to their familial wants, I personally think the new cognizance of fatherly woes can only do more good than bad. Particularly since that the growing concerns and desire of men to spend more time with their family will help them voice their opinion, which could help employers build a more employee needs friendly environment.
It is obvious that every business strives to make money and in its mission to fulfill this basic premise it constantly tries to motivate its staff to become more productive. However though today’s competitive business environment warrants persistent adherence to employee productivity enhancing measures, I feel that building policies that even considers an employees’ personal responsibilities, giving requisite leeway will help the organisation’s cause much more than they’ll ever realise.
After all I work with fathers and I can’t say I’ve never noticed how much they panic when their toddlers fall ill or for that matter how badly they look forward to go home as early as possible to spend time with their brood.

Twittering Bosses

Last month I had received a chain mail that pictorially elucidated the repercussions of adding bosses to your friends list. I’m sure it’s an old one but it was still an eye-opener. Ok, I’m hoping I’m not going to be as thick as the girl who got fired bitching about her boss and job on Facebook, but I’ve realised that you never know what can instigate you to do foolish things.
However after I did my own search to figure out if it was really true, I was quite surprised when I read through some of the comments the post has received. I do agree that people who twitter away on social networking sites about people they know are being inconsiderate. And when you do it so openly your actions are bound to boomerang back and hit you too, which most of us don’t realise at that time, but what I was wondering is that, can bosses be forgiven for being nasty? I mean I’ve seen a lot of bosses twittering about their subordinates too but why is it that their actions or in this case words not posted on blogs and forums for everyone to see, dissect, debate and admonish?
A friend of mine recently showed me comments posted by his immediate boss and super boss on Facebook, which I should say was rude and for him quite demotivating. I don’t doubt it when two of your superiors are happily twittering about their team’s lack of gumption it can be fairly depressing. Last heard he was working overtime to make a good impression.
Their “innocent banter” has made an over-slogging man out of my friend but I don’t know if it was what the bosses were actually hoping to achieve. Because they I’m sure were quite oblivious to the fact that everyone on their team would also be privy to their twitters. What with people adding colleagues to even the milk-vendor to their friends list nowadays! Whatever the case might be, I felt it was ethically wrong to vent your frustrations about your co-workers or subordinates so openly on social networking sites. After all everyone makes mistakes but should that be openly thrashed out for the whole world to see?
When an obnoxious subordinate’s folly is openly scrutinised and debated online, why haven’t people been vociferous about the allusions made by tweeting bosses?
When it comes to pinpointing faults why should slipups be overlooked based on hierarchy?

Find a job that helps you fulfill your dreams, not just follow them

Train your mind to make money; just ten minutes per day
I came across this advert online and as expected my curiosity got the better of me. I followed the link only to be taken to a website where you can download or even read online books that have been written to help the reader amass wealth. An interesting concept nonetheless, I still cannot help but wonder how working on strengthen your consciousness of wealth and everything related to it can make you the money that you’ve always wanted. Far-fetched but maybe this has been proved right for some but is this what we should be all trying to do, to start making more money?
All of us have needs, big and small that we feel has to be met and we work towards ensuring that those basic needs will be met no matter what happens. But how we go about doing it I feel is what makes us unique.
Money, yes is certainly the biggest driving force for most people to start working, but is it the only thing that makes a person follow dreams?
I personally believe like a lot of other people that when you do something that you really love, the money and all the other seemingly important things will find its way into your life without you even trying too hard. Yes that does not mean that you don’t have to work hard, but isn’t it obvious that when you love doing something, doing it again and again and staying focused towards achieving your predetermined goals shouldn’t be very difficult. You don’t just work hard, you live your work and breathe it, which obviously will get you the results that you think matches your true potential.
And you don’t have to a rocket scientist to know that we are all selfish and over-confident enough to believe that we deserve nothing but the very best.
So if you feel that you’re not anywhere close to your dream, its probably time you changed your job and found something that can get you not just closer but help you reach your goals faster and start dreaming of much bigger things…

Rio de Janeiro and the nation of Brazil wins the bid for the 2016 Olympics

A truly historical event for Brazil to win the most prestigious games that dates back centuries. I can almost feel the pride of the nation’s people for winning such a highly-competed bid. However all this fight for hosting an event of this magnitude demands a lot of effort, labour and infrastructure, which all the nations in the world seem to be investing in and taking stock of, not necessarily for conducting events of global-scale but just to fundamentally improve the nations communication networks.
Interestingly last week I had received a chain mail, an old one I’m sure, but one that seemed to have recorded the greatest of engineering feats across the globe. Disappointing would be an understatement for what I felt after skimming through the wonderful edifices that leading and even developing nations have added to their country’s landscape. From the tallest buildings to longest bridges the world around us seems to be on an expansion mode. Even India’s friendly neighbour Pakistan has added a beautiful and awe-inspiring mosque that has won the slot for the biggest in the world. Laudable I’m sure but it certainly would leave any Indian wondering what we’ve been up to all this while?
President Obama was quick to point in multiple occasions the engineering and knowledge might of the Indian sub-continent. We’ve undoubtedly managed to hold more than our fair share in terms of position, wealth, status, talent and well a lot of other things that makes it worthy of being mentioned by international leaders. But why as a nation that churns out more engineers in a year than any other country, not able to add one truly remarkable engineered structure to its landscape?
I’m more than sure this demands some serious thought. Why can’t construction companies draft plans to build something that is not only lucrative but also add more value to our national infrastructural strategies?
We comment and appreciate it when President Obama’s stimulus package strives to create more jobs while improving the already developed nation’s infrastructure but don’t seem to bother much about the deteriorating conditions of ours. Finding new opportunities for growth and evolvement is certainly a prerogative for all of us but then why not work towards finding opportunities that can not have a great impact on our lives but also add to the greater good of our nation?
After all we live here and improving things here can only be good for ourselves too, isn’t it?

Losing a job, being laid-off and impatiently waiting to be hired…

A friend of mine lost his job recently. Well, he raved and ranted but I knew for a fact that he had slogged everyday; it was heart-wrenching to see him lose his job again…
Yes, I say again because this is not the first time that he has been asked to clean up his desk and leave. Being forced to find a new job, after struggling for 3 month he did manage to find a position but only to be asked to leave when he was almost close to completing one year in his new position. Well, after close to a year you cannot call it new but it wasn’t old either, but the rule remained stuck — last to join first to leave. Anyway, blame on the global recession this time or conniving new team-mates, it had happened and its almost 6 months now since he has started his job-hunting and he’s still waiting for that elusive job to come his way.
It’s funny, I remember that he used to get calls informing him about opportunities almost everyday when he did have a job, but now that he’s jobless, he doesn’t get even one. Yes, there’s the odd one asking him to settle for a pay-cut, but I wonder if it is worth taking up. I’m sure most of you would feel that it’s better to take-up whatever comes your way than wait for something that suits your experience. I don’t know, but I definitely don’t agree. After all everyone expects their remuneration to match their capabilities and their experience. At the end of the day money does matter and if you settle for less, you will be forced to settle for less every time, especially when what you’re offered is only 75% of what you were drawing every month. Well, let’s forget remuneration, that’s not what I wanted to write about today, I’ll save that for some other time.
What I wanted to write about today is the sheer determination that has helped my friend survive this rather mean lean period in his life. Ever before everything else, the financial crunch hit him real hard. With all his bills waiting to be settled and just one month’s salary left in the bank, I can say he was in no frame of mind to bounce back. But bounce back he did and quite commendably.
The first thing that anyone would do when they lose a job is to register or if already a registered member, update their profile on job portals like naukri, ClickJobs.com and timesjobs. It helped him tremendously but not with a full-time job but what most wouldn’t even bother to take-up —a part-time position in a branch of work where he was inexperienced, though it was the same industry
Abhay, is and was a software engineer. Now he has meandered to a different path that takes software solutions to the general public through his studied briefs and products features booklets. Abhay has moved to writing about technology and technological products and everything connected and related to it. I personally feel it’s a fabulous transition, because though he is now not actually devising and deigning and implementing software solutions, he’s still in touch with what he does best by writing about it. It was no easy task, he has never tried his hand at writing but like they say necessity is the mother of invention, he self-taught himself to write and well, did get help by asking people he knew professionally to take a look at his work. It always helps to take feedback and clearly understand the pulse of the audience you’ll be catering to.
Like Abhay I trust there are hundreds of jobseekers out there waiting for opportunities to come their way. I was thinking, why just sit-back and wait? Why not just go ahead and pursue opportunities yourself. While going through a lot of job-portals I came across freelance opportunities in literally every field. Today almost every kind of job is getting outsourced, so why not let that help you find something for yourself? Maybe just as a stop-gap option, but why don’t you let the freelance bug bite you too.
After all it will help you pay your bills at the end of the day.
Think about it, I’m sure it will make a difference, well who’s going to complain about having extra-cash, anyway?

For the Love of Animals

Last weekend I took a long drive for a noble cause. I don’t know how many people I know would agree but it was noble nonetheless. Because last weekend I went to give an abandoned dog a home… Anyway before I digress, like I said it was noble because here there was a beautiful little creature lying on the streets waiting for someone to take her home and sadly finding no one who could give her that. We fed her for a week and partially provided shelter but that was all we could give, what with having two well-grown obnoxious male dogs at home, hating the very sight of this angelic little creature. So then we decided to find her a home and hit a blank wall every time. We did think we made some progress when a philanthropic animal welfare organisation asked us to mention their name and tell Blue Cross to take her. Well to be honest Blue Cross agreed but didn’t turn up the following day. And when questioned simply refused to do anything about it, but they were being fair they said because they anyway planned to just sterilize the poor creature and put her back in the lane they’d picked her up from. But after frantic calls made to different animal welfare boards we managed to find one that truly believes in helping- The Animal Welfare Protection Trust run by a very kind elderly couple. Despite their age they manage a shelter that practically houses 200 dogs and 200 cats. Can you believe that number? I was genuinely humbled and donated what I could to help save that soulful-eyed little creature that knocked on our door on a rainy night. I’m sure you’re wondering what this is got to do with opportunities. Well there is certainly one lurking in this too but I’m not sure how many will be willing to take it up, because it is no easy task. While talking to the founders of The Animal Welfare Protection Trust, Mrs. Padmavathi, the wonderful lady behind this novel venture was quick to point out the lack of human support. There have always been philanthropists helping us but it would certainly be great to have people coming forward to help too. A necessity I’m sure but let’s leave their case out of this. I know it’s not easy to start a shelter but I don’t think it’s impossible; truth to this fact is this wonderful couple with limited means starting the Animal Welfare Protection Trust. In the more globally inter-connected world that we all seem to be living in, even raising awareness about animal welfare and tying-up with corporate houses should be a problem. Yes it can be quite a Herculean task but it is certainly not unworkable. Where there is a will there always has been a way… So all you people with a philanthropic-entrepreneurial spirit, I hope you’ll sleep on this and maybe, I’m hoping one of you will be able to start something that will not only be a source of revenue (we have to be practical, I agree) but let’s say I’m hoping will save the lives of at least a hundred of our more docile, unconditionally loving co-inhabitants. And like Mrs. Padmavathi says, “we’re in reality depriving animals of the environment that rightly belongs more to them than us”. Yes I think we are, so why not give something back to them in return, maybe in small measures but I’m very sure that starting something noble certainly offers a lot in return, and if you have what it take, then certainly monetary too. P.S. Speaking of animals, if you’re not looking to start a shelter I suggest you at least visit one when you can, because spending time with animals are proven to relieve stress much better than other scientific remedies that we’re more inclined towards. Trust me it works like magic! Don’t believe me? Try it yourself…

Finding Opportunities

Practically all of us work in some way or another. Be it at home, in college (where you work towards getting enlightened in your chosen specialty), or for a social cause or for the most accepted of all at work. Yes, the remuneration varies in denomination, stature, status-quo, emotion, credibility, qualification and many other equally important and unimportant factors.
And while sitting at work wondering why I’m working and what I’m working towards achieving, I just thought why not record in writing my progression and digression from my chosen vocation….
Well, that seems to rhyme well! Anyway, like millions of other people on this planet I work for a living too and yes I’m remunerated quite well in that wonderful, enticing, magical paper that hits my account at the end of every slogged month, ensuring that I have food on the table at the end of the day. It would be a lie if I said that that’s’ all that I manage every month or that’s all I work for. Yes, there are the perks and millions of opportunities that I’m blessed with everyday to learn, unlearn, experience, contemplate, perceive and start all over again.
In the past few years I think I’ve metamorphosed into the ClickJobs' Happy Kumar. Because I’m too much in love with what I do that I just don’t even bother to look beyond my little window. There are a million little and big things that I enjoy and get from each workday. And so I was wondering what about the people who’re not really satisfied and hope to catch hold of that elusive opportunity that practically eludes them everyday…
I have a great job but I’m not too sure that the person sitting right next to me feels the same way about his job. That’s when I got thinking (a rare occurrence) why not start a blog where I’m hoping a lot of like-minded and far-more enlightened people can share their opinion about their experiences at work. Or even help people like me look beyond our chosen paths and maybe help find the perfect opportunity. I know it’s always there somewhere, right in front of our eyes but we rarely notice it…
So here am I, the Career Window, opening up my little window for the very first time, almost in rapturous joy waiting to take a peek at what I will find beyond the window to opportunities that I’ve just opened.