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Yours humanely

TRENDS It's more work but also more play in corporate jobs today, notes SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY

PHOTO: K. RAJENDRAN

SHOPFLOOR: Having fun is all in a day's work for today's white-collar workers, as in this musical night organised by Wipro.

Here is a story that is not yours or mine, yet we think, `Oh, it's such a familiar situation.'

Six years ago, Delhi-based Sunita Tandon had to quit her job in a top information technology company. Minus back-up at home, she had to baby-sit her newborn. And now when she is ready, no one wants a hand that had rested for years.

Here comes another story that may not have hit you or me yet, still we say, `I know someone who has gone through this.'

Gurgaon resident Ratan Sachdeva suddenly felt uneasy at work and passed out. Doctors diagnosed him as a cardiac patient, the blame was slapped on his sedentary work at a multinational pharmaceutical company.

Here is another tale oft told.

On Sunday mornings, Ajay Bakshi would get into his favourite pastime, a game of football with his pals. But since he joined a NOIDA-based BPO company, he is either found sleeping at that hour or driving home after a night shift.

But folks, here is succour! Corporate jobs are progressively becoming a blend of work and play. Dull boys like Jack are no more the `real' faces of today's corporate profile.

Excelling at work, feeling young and healthy, full of beans are the epithets for today's happening corporate honcho. And before you hold your head to ponder how to attain the new profile, here is a list of some in-house amenities that corporate houses now offer to their employees. To de-stress, to unwind, to revivify, any time. Gymnasiums, yoga and meditation rooms, language courses, drama societies, singing and dance lessons, tennis and basketball courts, cricket pitch, chess, pool and billiard tables, golf courses, swimming pools, family picnics, trekking, group holidays, health check-ups, wedding and birthday gifts and even personal choices of cuisine in the office cafeterias are among several facilities that have already become an everyday thing on the corporate premises. The message is, don't be a bechara, kaam ka maara (poor guy, caught in a work pile-up) but utilise these fringe benefits to be agile, ready to take a business decision and yet, with your dancing shoes in the car boot for a blast. All on the house.

"It is a sight on Fridays, everybody gears up for an evening office bash," says an employee of Gurgaon-based IBM Daksh. He often walks down to the in-house snooker table for a game.

"After a little dose of it, I am again ready to look at the target chart. No one gives dirty looks because we are in the same boat," he adds, laughing.In fact, corporate houses encourage employees to take part in these recreational activities. It not only helps to keep their work force fit and fine but gives a human face to their concrete buildings. Says a Gap International worker, "We have regular yoga classes. It's relaxing. There are two batches now." Their annual office stock-taking seminar takes them to an outstation destination, the unwritten rule being work and have fun thereafter. "Families are not allowed on seminars, but they are a must for office picnics," she confirms.

Though it is picking up fast here, the trend, points out Gayatri Rath of Oracle India, is far more prominent in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. "Our Hyderabad and Bangalore offices have several world class in-house facilities. But the Gurgaon office is a small establishment. We just have a cafeteria," she states. The recent picture of the Venezuelan Prime Minister putting at the Infosys golf course in Bangalore instantly hits the mind.

Even crèches

Moving beyond the usual facilities, some companies even have in-house crèches for employees. Something that indeed contributes to a female employee's relief. Some of the names include Triburg, Max Med Centre and NDTV.But many female workers are yet to reap this benefit. "When my maid left recently, I had to take leave from work to be with my daughter. The office gave me leave, otherwise, I would have ended up botching my career," says a Nestle employee. The winds of change have to sweep through many more places, but hope lies in the fact that the process has begun.

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