Peoples approach to home and office

This is something I have wanted to express for quite some time, so here goes. Most of the people who work spend more than half their waking hours in office – so in a way you can say your office becomes your home away from home. Many people find soul-mates with whom they share their innermost secrets – secrets which people at home may not know. Psychologists and behavioral studies have shown and thrown up the concept of “office spouses” where even people who are married find a person in whom they can confide or bitch about safely without getting into trouble. This is a kind of stress reliever and helps the individual to get their problems, issues out of their system and increases productivity in an organization. Then in such a situation, when it comes to mundane things like basic hygiene, attitude and consumption patterns why do individuals behave differently in office from the way they would at home?

Let me give you a few examples – at home do you litter your house? Do you leave the fan, air conditioner or lights switched on if no one is in the room, do you take more food than you can eat and then throw it into your dustbin? Do you? Do you? I bet my bottom dollar you don’t? Then when in office, why does one behave differently? Must be psychological – thinking being that the Company you work for pays for it so it’s no sweat of my back – it’s that kind of weird attitude I guess!

In office I have seen people not bothering to pick up trash if they miss putting it in the dust bin. At home if you do that, your parents will probably tell you to put it in the dustbin, I am sure if you have grown up kids you must be inculcating these values in them. If so, why is it different in office, why can one not adopt the same yardstick at office as one does at home!

When it comes to lunch I have noticed people taking more than they can eat and then not eating what they have taken. This is something which I have never understood - one serves oneself food and then wastes it. Normal excuses are food was bad, I did not like it, not vegetable of my choice, etc. – all this is acceptable – but then why does one not take enough to find out whether it is in line with their taste buds and taking more if they like it – better still get food from home. I would like to know if whether they behave like this at home – or polish of their plates. The amount which they throw could actually feed two to three poor families every day – have you ever thought of that. In school, we had a Brother (I forget his name) who used to collect milk bottles after the long recess every day, and sit down in a corner in the junior hall and empty each and every droplet into a container. Daily this exercise would fill two to three one liter bottles with milk, which he used to go and give to a nearby home for the under-privileged!

Your behavior today will be reflected in your off-springs behavior tomorrow – because your ingrained values will be absorbed by them. Will you stop your children behaving the way you do, or will you guide them? It is all in ones attitude – if you adopt the approach and attitude of treating your office as your home away from home, automatically you will behave in a manner which is not wasteful. When it comes to switching off lights or air conditioners – specially in times of increasing power shortages – is a good practice. You are not only saving costs but also scarce energy.

So friends, if you see any of the traits described above in your attitude, I would like to request you to change for the better.