“Workplace Detox: Banish the Bad Vibes!”

My organisation gave me sabbatical for mere completing 5 years of service.

Sounds dreamy right?

“Just Wow!”

“They don’t make such companies anymore!”

 These are a few things people tell me when they hear about my current workplace.

What I have realised over my fair share of consulting experience is that everyone is replaceable. And mind you, I have worked with some big names in my field including what others would know as Big 4s. Everyone is running a race they seem to know everything about but in reality, zilch. I remember being trolled in my early days at one of the Big 4s for wanting to leave early because it was my Mum’s birthday. I was casually told that I should get used to missing “important events” in my life let alone a birthday. That to me was an ugly reflection of where I had “made it” in life. It seemed nothing like a place I wanted to be working at or associate myself with. I probably said it to myself in that very moment that I will move out at the first better opportunity I get.

10 months down I landed at the dreamiest of workplaces. “Dreamy” is not an exaggeration considering I had worked at places where humans were not considered as humans but machines or even worse because machines could have down times, weekends off but humans could not. Wow I said without breathing!

Should we really believe we can get such workplaces only in dreams? Is it not our basic right? Who is responsible to create workplaces we are proud of? And not be associated with them purely because they are a “brand”. How about we call out such “brands” and mandate a course in being a better person for all their leaders.

Respecting basic human needs, privacy, the fact that your employee can have a life of their own is so underrated. In my experience however, this is one such string that doesn’t let the employee go.

So don’t tell no one that they should be able to handle the pressure because life is tough and all that nonsense. Who is making life tough? Make better life experiences, better tax laws, basic safety laws, better schools, colleges, offices, not only to a point of making laws but for implementing them and making sure anyone who makes one feel a lesser human is dealt with severely.

We must not forget the impact of one’s environment on their mental and overall health. Perhaps, that discussion can be left for another day!