Work From Home and The Boss

It would not be wrong to say that Work from home is the new buzzword in the town. Most of us in the IT sector are doing this and yes, it's quite comfortable. Especially for people who travel hours and hours in crowded public transport systems smelling fish and co-passengers' armpits. No, It's not hyperbole - its a fact. Ok! At least in Mumbai, IT IS A FACT.

The local train travel in summer becomes pathetic. The workplace is all heavenly but the travel is hell. By the time you reach office, the shirt tucked in is out in the open. The nicely ironed trousers look no more like they used to, two hours ago. Nicely polished black leather shoes are full of dust. You look at them pathetically and rub behind your trousers. Messed up and not ready to work is the mental state when you swipe into the office. And all this trouble just to reach a place which you don't like. Haha! That's life buddy. But the same life fills your pockets on the last day of every month.

Work from home has allowed us to work and earn continuously. Yes, especially in the COVID-19 crisis days, this feature has become a boon. Laborers, daily wagers who are unable to get work are suffering. People are not able to go back to their homes in other states. Nor are they able to fill their stomachs here. Agreed that the government is doing every bit of help they could but they can't go door-to-door asking everybody if they had some food today. Because everyone doesn't have a home here. People working at factories who used to sleep there, after the factory closed at night are homeless today. Factory owners have shutdown factories due to the deadly virus and workers are left helpless. So, we all must be grateful that we are working from and staying safe in HOME SWEET HOME.

But Work from home also has an issue. Yes! you guessed it right. There is only one issue in the office. THE BOSS! The boss is a very innocent person who only knows how to say yes to the clients and no to his employees. Again, this is not a hyperbole. This boss is using Work from home as a weapon. They have made these stupid whatsapp groups, installed outlook mail on mobile, and are always in a delusion that their employees are always working and available. The work environment in some of the workplaces is very bad. The boss calls at any time. There is no end time. Companies should have stricter policies to support employee time and personal life whether he is working from home or not. Yes, I was the one who started this article by urging each one of you not to complain and be grateful but this is for those who don't understand. Those who think that ghar pe hi to baitha hai, thoda kaam kar lega to kya jayega. Those who think that by paying the employee at the end of every month, they have acquired 100% shares of their employee's life. Those selfish people who are hungry for self-recognition because they have never achieved anything else in front of their hungry for self-recognition bosses. Bigger the organization, more vicious is the boss ladder.

Work from home is all good and the way our organizations are supporting us is laudable. The organizations make us complete so many work from home training to be compliant with all their policies. The bosses should also undergo coaching to learn the ethics of respecting employee time and personal life. The organizations should make sure that bosses are managing their employees correctly. Excessive pressure on the bosses puts unnecessary pressure on the lower graders and finally, employees give up to find a new boss who is also THE BOSS.