TMCnet News
Indore's office-goers and their New Year hangover! [Work] [Times of India](Times of India Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) So, you had lots of fun dancing the night away on New Year's Eve? But with NYE falling in the middle of the week, the town's office-goers were in a fix on the first day of the year. After showing off some cool dance moves in that hip party and boozing with friends, it takes a lot of will power to wake up the next morning for office. Although some offices had declared a holiday on January 1, many were open. While many smart Alecs had pre-planned their sickness for January 1, some-not-so-lucky chaps had to reach their workstations because their bosses had already anticipated a mass-bunk and didn't approve any chhuttis. The bleary-eyed employees, who somehow managed to reach their offices, kept on eying a half-day leave opportunity. Here's how Day 1 of 2014 began for Indore's bosses and their employees! IT'S A ONE-DAY FEVER FOR HALF OF THE STAFF Since morning, we have been receiving calls and mails from our employees who are suddenly sick on the first day of the year. Almost half of our total strength is absent today and they are majorly the junior and middle-level employees. Even I would have opted to stay back as I was also a part of the night-long New Year celebrations. But as a senior official, I can't. The organisation can't afford to remain shut on a working day simply because all the employees are hung-over. Now, I, along with some other senior colleagues, will have to take care of the day's proceedings. As an HR norm of the company, a single-day sick leave can be taken at any point of time, even if we know the reason behind the employees' surprise illness. - Ajeet Singh, senior manager at an MNC HALF DAY ON A WEEKDAY Last year too, New Year's fell on a weekday and therefore most of our employees either took a day off or joined in the second half of the day. So, this time we had already declared a half day on January 1. When you know that the entire world is busy partying on New Year's Eve, it's unjust to expect that your employees will sit at home because they have to reach office early the next day. All our employees have been asked to come during the second half of the day. It's a smarter option as compared to forcefully pulling them to office early morning. They'll either be snoozing or yawning. - Kavita Sharma, consultant at a chartered accountant firm OF SLEEPY AND GROGGY-EYED EMPLOYEES The ambience at our office was very vibrant and cheery on New Year's Eve when we had a nice cake-cutting ceremony and high-tea. But the office looks gloomy and dull today (January 1). Some of them have taken a day off, and I'm not sure how awake the ones who have managed to come to office are. Just one look at their faces and its evident how hard they partied last night. Most of them are hung-over and yawning away while gazing into their computer screens. Let alone the employees, even the peon was snoozing and I had to shake him up. It's supposed to be a working day for us, but I doubt how much work will actually be done. The company should have declared a holiday. At least a working day's productivity wouldn't have been hampered like this. - Ankur, manager at an event management company WHY TAKE CHANCES? Our authorities had clearly told everyone that those who choose to remain absent on January 1 will have to give strong reasons for it or have to suffer the consequences. It's a working day for us and why should some employees take the advantage of staying at home while others have to be at work on New Year. If you have partied till the wee hours, as a professional, you should also be responsible towards your work. And this strategy has really worked. Apart from a few, almost 90% of the employees are at work and well on time. But we're expecting an early off today. - Meenakshi Singh*, employee at a private bank (c) 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited |