Something Different.

Coming up next is an article , much worked upon, partly concocted(actually.. yeah you got it!) and some teeny weeny research done for a magazine i used to work for. DESKTOP DE-STRESSED: “Monday sunup blues? You got to be kidding me...never heard that one before. I love my workplace; not that I am in love with my Balance Sheet records but it’s just that I am a slave to our majestic lunchroom carte du jour” ; recalls Ashutosh Poddar working in one of the leading Corporate Houses in Kolkata. Oh yes these are real comments in case you are having second thoughts. Ever spared an honest thought about the luxuries that your offices offer to you in order to make your work load seem lighter? I already sniff a ‘No’ for an answer. Here’s an interesting infotainment for all those professionals who take work on their stride and make the best out of it, doing without the popular complaints against their bosses. So let’s just discover the unique things about the work ambience that makes the office goers look forward for fresh working weekdays ahead. Undoubtedly everyone wishes for the weekend to move slow, and why not ;after a strenuous weeklong brain rattling and body exertion, the crave to catch up on sleep and latest movies is strong and needs fulfillment. However, our attempt is to shift the comfort angle from home to the office territory. To some, the idea of having a good time during office hours might seem ridiculously hilarious, but not all. Work is something which has to be done and professionals who are specialists are bound to suffer from periodic frustration owing to monotony in the repetitive work procedure. Therefore there ought to be some stress busters within the office dominions itself which helps in making things around and ‘about you’ look better. It’s not necessarily about the sophisticated look of your office upholstery, or the extravagance of your prospective promotional pay packet. There could be certain subtle features even in the most high tech offices which needs genuine discovery in order to release one self from recurrent stress. Did you ever realize, sitting in your cabin on the sixteenth floor, that the huge south-east facing glass window beside your desk overlooking almost the entire city could be the vent for all your anxieties to vaporize and blow away? Do I hear a ‘Yes’ for an answer this time around? I hope so. Wonder why you always tend to roll down those Venetian Blinds and keep yourself away from the view? Try working with the blinds rolled up so that the window serves as a psychological impetus to work afresh. “ There’s a mini verandah attached to our lobby on the second floor. Whenever I feel bored with the ever ringing phone on my desk I just sit on the ledge puffing cigarettes. Well ‘The Ledge’ also happens to be a hot favourite among my fellow colleagues. From bickering, cramming , sobbing , backbiting, bragging , bitching to ‘prem’ming ....everything happens in our Ledge; it’s an absolute adda junction that heavily reminds me of my college days” as quoted by Diviani Chaudhury, a PR Consultant. If lethargen is the honey in thy veins then The Ledge is the place to be for all ye Ledgelings... Amen. Talking of adda I am reminded of a friend who’s a call centre employee. Since their work prioritizes the nights, my friend and her colleagues keep coming up with the weirdest of ideas to keep themselves wide awake for work. Be it downloading music from the boss’s computer when he’s away, enacting portions from ‘One Night At The Call Centre’ , hence pouring feelings to a certain Priyanka by a certain Sam in a theatrical way, to yakking to the newcomers with a heavy American accent. So you see the eccentricities involved in making oneself in tune with the work environment. Mobile games are hugely ignored simply because there are whole lot of other things to fiddle with, in a cellphone. However, for a jaded executive almost in the middle of an afternoon, his cellphone becomes a medium of instant tire tonic. The snake puzzle seems a challenge to accomplish and within minutes we see him caught in a hypnotic spell of rigorous swaying frenzy in an attempt to rightly manoeuvre the snake. As the winning beep echoes in the office chamber our Manager is all smiles. Only the poor leather armchair is caught up in an aftershock of a wild rollercoaster ride !! Another positive thing about most of the city offices are their radiant get-up which boosts the zeal to work and initiates a feel-good-factor in the employees. Certain offices have a spacious cafeteria for the afterhours of work, some maintain sprawling lunch rooms, some again are equipped with a gymnasium, while some offer restrooms and recreation facilities. Just because an office has the legitimate right to be professional and strictly formal, it would be incorrect to tag the forum as being ‘insensitive’ to nature. Well, this is what Ira Borgohain had to say about her de-stressing factor; “ Our building has an amazing nursery of varied kind of beautiful plants. The terrace of our office building is the place to be after long hours of work. The sight of so many different colours is itself so refreshing. Just being there at around a little past dusk, on my own,I breathe a new life, I hear the green breathing. Life throbs. It’s simply wonderful. I never imagined these kind of thoughts could ever occur to me in my workplace which otherwise seems the most unaccommodating place on earth !” Jatin Ninawe, a Software Consultant, hates the fake taste of coffee that his coffee maker offers him, at home. He eagerly looks forward to the evening when his peon enters with a steaming cup of hand-made coffee ; “Ah, heaven...and I bet you couldn’t be happier when you have those nice and crisp butter cookies to go with it.” All said and done, offices aren’t really as villainous as they sometimes pose to be. It’s just that they demand work and in return offer you certain privileges. Again, the idea of a good working day equally rests on the employee as well. Not all offices are elaborate but all are liberal enough to help you in making your spirit undergo a quick recreation. Isn’t it so? I don’t need an answer this time because the statement is unquestionably very true. Be it your own formula to let go your professional strain, or the effort of your office, keep your weekdays as radiant and healthy as your weekends. Psst... don’t forget that your best buddy at work, your desktop is always there to bear the loud angry thud of the paperweights, incase things go amiss !!