Guest Article: Shyam G Iyer: Festivals @ workplace

Festivals are expressions of our diversified culture and beliefs and are celebrated throughout the year. They are 'time-off' moments to get-together, share a common belief, bond and rejoice. While we celebrate festivals, it is a little known fact that the same festivals are celebrated at our workplaces all the time without us even realising it. Here are some popular ones:

● Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Girl greets the boy. Boy treats the girl. Begins with compliments. Graduates into sentiments. Intercom gets busy. Everything looks easy. Love is in the air. The start of an office-affair. Happy Valentine's Day!

● Appraisal closure time. Possibly the toughest time for a CEO or HR head to manage the monster called 'bell-curve'. Five promotion slots v/s twenty-five eligible candidates. There's a very deserving manager, but then there's an equally enthusiastic colleague who goes the extra mile every time (read that as making reservations for boss's holiday or occasionally 'just dropping by' on Sundays with home-made kheer and mutton curry for the boss). Some decisions can be indeed tough. Someone will have to wait another year. Blame it on the bell curve, someone has to get slaughtered. B for Bell-Curve, B for Bakri Eid.

● Annual vacation brings joy. More than the CEO who goes for a two-week Europe tour with family, it is the team that rejoices at the work place. Two weeks of freedom. Walk in 30 minutes late; leave the office 'on-time'. And while you are at work, flood the boss' inbox with countless 'CCs' so the manipulative man gets a sense of his duty-bound team working hard, while he's holidaying abroad. Gang up, laugh out loud, spill some coffee on the desk and crack Hari-Sadu jokes in open. The mice shall play when the cat is away. Non-stop fun, non-stop festivity, it is indeed Navratri in the office.

● Business review time. The time to put your best foot forward and showcase your team's achievements. Also, the most critical time to 'outshine' vis-à-vis other internal teams. Just when you wrapped up your presentation with a killer trump-card idea, a hand goes up. All eyes are on the other team's manager, who in the most sophisticated manner bursts your bubble. The idea isn't original, he says. It's been done before, he explains. Data, photographs and details follow. Your heart sinks. The boss is clearly disappointed. After all your build-up and efforts, it's a boo-hoo moment for your team. Just when the kite was flying high, the rival manja had to strike... Kai-Po-Che!

● You always knew it'd be worth the effort and the wait. Preparing for the board exams was actually easier. You never had to lie or take ownership of projects you never managed. Wearing the same 'lucky shirt' recommended by your wife for all three rounds. Last minute Google search on body language tips and handshake categories. Breaking out of a prison is never easy, you kept telling yourself. And finally, after all the gruelling rounds and a week-long dreadful silence, the offer mail shows up on your Inbox. When was the last time you felt so happy? Happy Independence Day.

The author is head, marcom, Tata Teleservices.