How offices have changed in 2 years
I took some time away from work, and went back to school for 2 years. Now that I'm back in the corporate landscape, the officespace that greets me is slightly different than when I last bid adieu to it. How I wish that they'd come up with a more intelligent way of identifying employees than the ID-tag-around-your-neck, but I'll have to wait for a few decades before the technology evolves.
For the first few days at office, I had to struggle to get hold of a Cisco phone. As far as I can remember, offices had more Cisco phones than employees. Now, there are hardphones and then there are the newer softphones. The latter just looks like a Cisco phone, but is virtual and installed on your system. That's how the headphone companies come are making more money!
As multiple time zones converge through people working round the clock, EOD is not relevant anymore. You can't say EOD (End Of Day), without being counter-questioned about which timezone are you referring to. COB (Close of Business) has just overtaken EOD in professional parlance. I'm curious to know when that is, but oh, lemme worry about that later.
Leaving your screen unlocked was a big no-no. Some prankster of a colleague would send out mails about parties, sweets and pseudo-celebrations. Now the tight-lipped lady will unflinchingly escalate this matter to Big brother. 'Escalate' is now the big word that makes the merry go round and round.
Personal hygiene has climbed the charts in 2 years. We now have hand sanitizer dispensers also. The ones under which you sway your hand and it goes 'Tatasthu!' and lo and behold - 2 drops of pungent sanitizer to clean your germs. Even some of the ATMs have started keeping them. Next thing you know, they'll start putting your currency notes through UV filters and charge you a premium. Even female hygiene has gone up a notch. Now they have special bins with special silver deodorizing agent to make your sanitary napkins ready for disposal. Phew, one less thing to worry about huh?
People seemed to have changed as well. Women wear more make-up, and muesli is the new corn-flakes. Green tea and Espresso are the in-thing, but no machine has mastered the kadak chai yet. Tupperware is still the official dabba providers in Blore, but no one has solved the curious mystery of the missing spoons and forks from cafeteria.
Its a relief that some things have remained unchanged. The weekend still lasts for 2 whole days, the paycheque is a monthly affair and taxes are an occupational hazard. It feels good to be back, after all.
For the first few days at office, I had to struggle to get hold of a Cisco phone. As far as I can remember, offices had more Cisco phones than employees. Now, there are hardphones and then there are the newer softphones. The latter just looks like a Cisco phone, but is virtual and installed on your system. That's how the headphone companies come are making more money!
As multiple time zones converge through people working round the clock, EOD is not relevant anymore. You can't say EOD (End Of Day), without being counter-questioned about which timezone are you referring to. COB (Close of Business) has just overtaken EOD in professional parlance. I'm curious to know when that is, but oh, lemme worry about that later.
Leaving your screen unlocked was a big no-no. Some prankster of a colleague would send out mails about parties, sweets and pseudo-celebrations. Now the tight-lipped lady will unflinchingly escalate this matter to Big brother. 'Escalate' is now the big word that makes the merry go round and round.
Personal hygiene has climbed the charts in 2 years. We now have hand sanitizer dispensers also. The ones under which you sway your hand and it goes 'Tatasthu!' and lo and behold - 2 drops of pungent sanitizer to clean your germs. Even some of the ATMs have started keeping them. Next thing you know, they'll start putting your currency notes through UV filters and charge you a premium. Even female hygiene has gone up a notch. Now they have special bins with special silver deodorizing agent to make your sanitary napkins ready for disposal. Phew, one less thing to worry about huh?
People seemed to have changed as well. Women wear more make-up, and muesli is the new corn-flakes. Green tea and Espresso are the in-thing, but no machine has mastered the kadak chai yet. Tupperware is still the official dabba providers in Blore, but no one has solved the curious mystery of the missing spoons and forks from cafeteria.
Its a relief that some things have remained unchanged. The weekend still lasts for 2 whole days, the paycheque is a monthly affair and taxes are an occupational hazard. It feels good to be back, after all.
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