This post of mine goes out to all of those folks who have started working or already are working from quiet sometime or who would start working in a while . After 2 years of my association with the corporate world in two very good companies(Yes i got a little lucky and my hard work paid off 😉 ;)) with a superb work culture there are a few realizations i have had.  Hopefully you will all say, “yes this happened to me”, or” yes i could have done it this way” . I would never suggest you to do what i did, since only if you do what you feel from inside only then its your experience else its mine. After all one life, all decisions in life should be one’s own.
To start off with, the best and worst feeling is transition from college to work. A few of my lucky friends and me, got placed from campus, and we did not really have to try too much to get the job from outside. Trust me, getting into a company, off campus or after college is much more difficult than what you think. Anyways we got into a big brand in consulting and were on cloud 9 after that. But it was not long before we were brought down on ground level and my own college mates had become my competitors. I had started missing my college life, not that i had great time or i bunked too many classes but life was comfortably on my terms. There were no afternoon naps, no fresh air but long journeys, lot of chais from the wending machine and an air conditioned atmosphere all the time.
In no time, i was working, had a bank account, had a credit and debit card and was earning money. But weirdly i never felt that I’m working, or the work i did generated revenue for the firm, or something i could get paid for. It was fun and challenging being on the job, no spoon feeding, Google becoming your savior and the only aim being to learn work faster. I guess instead of studies it was working on an application and it was exciting. But couple of things had changed, good things- My clothes, my style sense 😉 😉 😉 , my patience levels , my understanding of this world had thoroughly changed; bad things-lots of responsibility, competition to impress the boss, self praise and the worst part, work life politics.
Till college i had just heard about it, but then it was first hand experience. My own friends had stopped sharing if they were getting a hike, or how they were growing up the ladder, and ya i too was colored up in this rat race. Everyone was quietly initiating visas, building up networks, creating relationships 😉 and we all were drifting away. And then there were colleagues, a few smarter, a few trying to act smart, a few bitchy and a few with whom i made life long bonds. And then i felt the unfair reward system, your slogging for hours did n’t pay off and someone else working much lesser than you took the chocolate. Whether the other guy worked hard or not we mostly feel that he/she just did not deserve it. But it was not all that bad, because i met a couple of very good people who were selflessly nurturing me, parenting me not to work better but to make me a better individual, to be less sensitive and more understanding. There is also an appraisal time where everyone wass more interested in the rating, bonuses and hikes of others rather than their own. It was like noting down their marks like back in school and then seeing if you topped or they. But its fair may be because that what tells you where you stand and what you lack at.
My takeaway was that its okay if you do not get the award, because that’s temporary, don lose heart since your hard work did not payoff. You worked well, not because of your extensive hard work or your greed for an award but because you always work well, that’s inborn ;). Also it is necessary sometimes to project your work in the right way. You have to tell people how your work is, its not boasting but rather creating awareness about yourself to your colleagues. Your friends will always be so, everybody wants to prove oneself, they also are trying. So its best to clear your misunderstandings upright politely. Its never good to harm your professional relationships, because even if you want you can’t leave that place at your say, its nice to see friends at office every morning, its like an inspiration and not have rats whom you hate and who hates you, its awkward. You will need them, because a lunch cannot be enjoyed with your managers 😉 if you get what i mean. 🙂 🙂
Struggling and juggling between my life’s priorities i finished a year in my company. And then i had my friends leaving the company for higher studies, they were going back to college. It was a mixed feeling i was feeling very glad for them, but was also feeling I’l be left behind in this hateful place without them. That’s when i felt that i liked the people more than my work. Not a good sign. I liked my work but insecurities, dissatisfaction had cropped in, the motivation was over. I may be should have made more friends or had got a little more motivation from my peers. But it was not in my hands. The craze was over and the hunt had begun. Its definitely is not a good thing to leave companies before about 2 years at your own fancy, but good luck shined on me and i got an interview call from a very reputed firm. As i said Healthy competition is always needed so i hushed about it and cracked the interview. Before i made it i was cribbing, but after that it was like waiting for enter a new world. Leaving behind my old friends was not easy, but change is always important as well as inevitable. It keeps you going for new learning, new experiences and a search for a better you.
My journey part 2 began after serving a happy happy notice period where i worked much more than needed in a very short time, because there was no pressure, no fight to be the best but it was to do what i liked. And guess what my apprehensions about new people, had been answered well. Fear was more because back then i had my college friends coming along, but in no time my colleagues were my friends, healthy competition still existed in my heart but it was no longer a rat race, Maturity 😉 had stepped in. If i proved myself or not is still an unanswered question because i did not have an appraisal 😉 but I guess i am happy with the change. And somehow my peers have at workplace have made my world better.
So its not always that we only have formal relationships at work, or we just have a hi bye relationship but we do make strong connections with people who have the same frequency as ours, but we do have to clearly differentiate that when is it work time and when is it fun time. What are our priorities, how do we mange time, our work life balance, our diplomatic associations with people, 😉 ;), our strings attached with people. Once we have clarity on all of this we will succeed. We may not be the top performer always but we would true to our work, our conscience and people around.
I know it was a loooooooong post but pushing in 2 years of New life, could not have been shorter. We back bite sometimes, we get criticized sometimes, we become the butt of the jokes, but It is JUST FINE. Sometimes, if people have fun with you does not mean they hate you, it means they happiness lies in making fun of a sweet friend like you. It’s like getting buckled up for the next step, i always get teased because i get irritated but trust me, when i think back i relish those moments because it was a fun moment. Always be open to learning , don intend to make enemies, don have an attitude problem, if lot of people don like you its not because you are different but because something is wrong. Its time to introspect. Work is worship don let anything come in between, because your bank balance, your shopping, the glow on your face on 31 st of every month is because of that work. You have to earn it. 🙂 🙂
I am no work life balance counselor but i am just another someone in the crowd who feels sharing experiences always helps. 🙂
Images Courtesy :Google 🙂
On a long journey with Calvin and Hobbes 