If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
Bullshit!
Tag: Discipline
That was “love in abundance” when I told my driving instructor in London (in the middle of classes) that I would be taking a break and visiting India for a month.
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
Takes Two to Tango!
Stop! Don’t take a restroom break!
Look at the image. (A Reddit user posted this abominable circular pasted in a company located in the USA).
Doesn’t that sound so ridiculous? But don’t be alarmed. That’s how many companies across the world function nowadays.
Time is precious.
Agree, but when did companies start treating staff who go for a leak (during office time) as criminals since?
Companies often base their rules upon staff wasting time at restrooms, helping themselves with many cuppas at the coffee machine, chatting at the desks, browsing, checking (personal) e-mails and spending time on smartphones etc.
They impose strict rules so that staff put in more productive hours than wasting time during those needless breaks.
Remember what Mr. Narayana Murthy of Infosys said? He asked the younger generation in India to spend 70 or more hours in office so that India would become a superpower soon. And you know how outraged the social media were.
My boss was worse. He was Asian-British.
I worked for a multinational media company based in the UK. We had employees from all parts of the world, including people who are native British.
On Fridays, he made sure he would stand at the exit and wish the British and the non-Asian staff a ‘happy weekend’.
He would appear at where most of the Asian staff (on work visas) worked and tell them to finish up the day’s job however late it might take. Some he would ask to report to work on weekends too. How audacious!
He had staff exclusively to monitor employees taking breaks. There were occasions he showed CCTV footage that helped him count how many pieces of pizza staff ate during meetings. He was so disgusting.
The emphasis, as they say, might be to increase productivity, but the question is; at what cost?
The image we see, asking staff to ‘use restrooms before the start of work’ evokes laughter in the first place. Will the staff hold up when they feel like going for a leak?
And the company, as the circular says, will deem those who take a restroom-break after punching-in to have committed a “time clock fraud”. They might be getting the boot. How sad!
The image sent the social media into a fit of anger and one aggrieved customer asked; “Funny how they don’t mention the time clock fraud of telling you to work over a scheduled hour or work through breaks”.
This will surely make most employees lose motivation to work.
If you keep them at the desk for longer hours without a break, they will appear to be busy working rather than seriously working.
As the saying goes, it takes two to tango.
Know Your Rights! How?
What’s something most people don’t understand?
We often see people giving no two hoots about other peoples’ privacy. Nor do they give a damn about respecting others.
As the world is now reduced to a smartphone, we see people glued to social media such as FB, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and YouTube. The result is reality is out gone for a toss.
I have been to a coaching academy, based in Trichy, Tamilnadu, recently as a mentor. Students I found there were a lot ill-disciplined.
They pay no attention in class. They sleep. No hygiene. Nor do they give respect to the teachers and staff. And the parents always say their wards are right.
Come home to my building in Chennai, Tamilnadu. We have a functioning association under the Residents Welfare Society act. But people don’t pay the maintenance charges on time. They don’t keep the surroundings tidy and clean.
The traffic in India is one of the worst in the world. There’s no such thing here as a bus-lane. No limited hours. Nor do the authorities collect congestion tax like the one we see in the US and in the UK.
You can see people always rushing through traffic and creating confusion. Because they often run to school and office late or miss the time of scheduled meetings.
People are nosy in our neighbourhood. Gossiping is routine. Invasion of privacy is just an everyday affair.
It’s election time in India now. Politicians reap a heavy harvest of people’s innocence. They promise heaven while campaigning and do nothing after grabbing seats in the August houses of Parliament.
Knowing your rights is what people need now. When will they understand?
Wish I had ‘braved the weather’.
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
Roads in India are bad. Motorists often flout rules. Accidents, therefore, are a regular sight.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) says 70 percent of fatal road accidents happen due to speeding.
And, Mr. Nitin Gadkari, the minister for transport, said people are so negligent on roads.
It’s each individual’s responsibility to observe strict discipline while driving. One should always be on guard. With all senses open.
I wish I had the skill to spot the (most common) traps people in India fall so easily into, like cricket falling on bright headlamps.
The advanced skill that helps me (every day) spot potholes, leaking sewer holes, unmarked speed-breakers, a two-day old fallen tree, deadly blind-spots, sudden road-closures, diversions, a speeding metro truck from behind, a petrol station that’s “closed for maintenance”, a minister’s motorcade crossing, the dead-end (daily) election meetings, huge blaring speakers on either side, a falling billboard, a 15 ft cinema banner in the middle, a religious procession on foot, the auto-rickshaw in front that stops abruptly when seen a client, failed lights at junctions and a parking lot which is full (already) but without a notice.
Can I?
"சென்றிடுவீர் எட்டுத் திக்கும்" 