Tag: Good Health

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. 

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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. 

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it. And Write a Blog About it!

How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

The virus hit India in 2020. The pandemic took us by dozens. Some of us have miraculously recovered. It has been a tough year. 

Many deaths. Hospitals in Chennai, Tamilnadu were full. We have seen ambulances operating 24/7. Doctors and staff were working day and night attending to infected patients.

Only the arrival of vaccines brought a stop to the spread. That’s not the end of the story.

No vaccines can prevent 100% of infections. The second wave hit us big. It was much worse.

People have stayed mostly indoors. The lockdown affected our daily lives. The business houses were shut.

‘Living with the Virus’ was how many of us have sadly adapted. The deadly virus continued to mutate and caused havoc in people’s lives.

The cities in India have taken ages to come back to normal.

We avoided crowds, maintained distance and always wore masks. Hand sanitizers have become a part of our daily ritual.

Offices run mostly through Zoom meetings. Many have lost jobs. I, too, have lost mine.

I suffered from sleep disturbances. Many of us don’t feel alright with our mental health. Such is the trauma.

We do yoga and sit in meditation for longer hours. We have been advised to do deep breathing as exercise to come clean from the trauma. 

And the big plus is I have got time to write. My blogs are now regular. One every day, at least.

Remote working is the new hope. Many corporate companies offer jobs to people who choose to work from home. But at what cost?

Companies fear productivity will suffer when people will work from home.

But a poll in the UK has proved their fear wrong. 

53% of respondents in a survey (post Covid19) comprising of 1500 participants said they felt much better mentally when working from home. 

The survey included both the owners of business houses and employees of companies. 

And they said further that the productivity also didn’t suffer because of the switch. Good!

I eat, work and sleep. All in the same place now. 

I know now how to defeat a deadly virus which killed many millions. No fear!

 

Women are no agony aunts!

February 11, 2020.

Girls studying at Krantiguru Shyamji Krishna Verma Kutch University based in Gujarat, India were put to a rude shock.

They were taken to the washroom by staff and forced to remove their undergarments to prove they were not menstruating.

What’s the crime? They were seen sitting in the canteen, chatting and eating food.

The university, as the news said, has put in place a strict rule that menstruating girls should not enter the cafeteria or the canteen to eat food. They should desist from joining others.

No sooner had this trauma for girls at the university ended than the guru, Mr. Krushnaswarup Dasji attached to Nar-Narayan Devgadi of Swami Narayan Sect said menstruating women in India should not enter the kitchen and cook food.

The reason, as he quoted from ancient Shastras, was that menstruation is a penance decreed by god. If they continue to cook food while menstruating, they will be cursed to be born as dogs in their next life.

The guru didn’t stop with just that.

If their husbands choose to eat the food, they will be reborn as bullocks, he said.

The nation was shocked. Many were outraged. Women in India have protested. 

The law quickly swung into action. 

The police arrested the principal, the hostel rector and the peon of Shree Sahajanand Girls Institute (SSGI) for the shameful incident of stripping the girls.

8th of March today is the world’s women’s day and let’s wish women a happy, free and a fulfilled life.

While doing so, let me share a snippet of a story that appeared in the Washington Post about two years ago. Penned by the author Amruta Byarnal, the story talked about how a handful of women in Delhi reacted to Guru Dasji’s disparaging statement.

The story said menstruating women gathered and conducted a ‘Period Feast’. Women were called, asked to cook food and serve the guests.

Many, including men, attended the feast. The event was huge and people partied. Women wore T-shirts that boldly said they were menstruating.

Banners and balloons carried messages that said menstruation was natural, and the biological process was nothing demeaning of women.

“We felt it was important to respond to damaging statements about women because we didn’t want to give substance to myths and taboos any further,” said Rikita Narula of NGO Sachhi Saheli, which funded the feast.

The government data says there are 355 million menstruating women and girls in India, and only 42 percent have access to sanitary napkins.

According to a 2014 USAID-backed report, nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually due to lack of proper menstrual hygiene management facilities.

Men like Guru Dasji have only helped damage the cause of women in India and the patriarchy is sadly the main villain.

Events like ‘Period Feast’ send a strong message to the world that women are born equal.

Women are as independent, career-building, equal and free as men. Periods for women should never be an impediment to their progress in society. 

Chitransh Saxena, a male guest at the event, was all in praise of the women gathered. He called for putting an end to old customs surrounding women’s hygiene.
He said he was there to support the women’s cause. 

Mr. Saxena, the founder of Pad Bank (a Delhi-based NGO) emphasised upon educating boys about women’s menstrual health.

On this day, let’s take a pledge, join hands with people who work for the cause of women round the world and work toward creating a society that’s all embracing and equal.