The Letter!!

The Manager,

The reason for this email is two fold. The first is to thank you; my manager and my colleagues for making this job a learning experience. My colleagues have undoubtedly taught me valuable lessons pertaining to both the job and camaraderie.

My second motive is to provide feedback, as I believe as an employee it is my duty, to help in the growth of the organisation. I will cover several points across the next few paragraphs.

THE OFFICE
It lacks cleanliness. The maid is inefficient and due to lack of supervision, her work is nothing less than shoddy. The piles of cardboard kept on the side of the office adds to the ambiance of the room, which can be described, for lack of a stronger word as “filthy”!!

Effects – The dust and grim on the floors of the office have had a drastic effect on the health of the employees. Many of them developed breathing problems and skin irritations.

THE BATHROOM
This room can be better described as a hole in the wall, into which a WC and washbasin have been squeezed in. The cleaning material is, with great skill, balanced on top of the WC, threatening to fall and create a mess. Due to inefficiency or sheer lack of knowledge of the basics of plumbing, the draining pipe of the washbasin has not been connected to an outlet; therefore directing the flow of water and whatever else is being poured down the drain to create a large pool on the floor of the bathroom. The ventilation is minimal and therefore the water stagnates for long periods of time causing this to be a potential breeding ground for various infectious diseases.

The WC is positioned in such a manner that it gives the impression that the person who designed the bathroom was most definitely a male chauvinist, for there is no leg room for a person of the opposite gender to carry out her personal activities in the traditional manner!

Effects – The unhygienic condition has made using the bathroom a repulsive act


MANAGEMENT
The world believes we have moved past the industrial revolution, but unfortunately it lingers in small areas like our office. The characteristics of the industrial revolution included repetitive monotonous work, for extremely long hours, with no consideration for basic personal needs. Breaks during work hours were unheard of let alone permission for leave. The only time a person could get off was if he/she were seriously ill causing danger of infecting other workers or if he/she just fell dead!!

I can sympathize with those caught in the chains of this work environment. For eight months I worked in a similar establishment called The Elitists, with the manger seemingly unaware or just consciously overlooking the miserable conditions of his employees.

An example would be the forceful acceptance to work continuously through weekends to compensate for the lack of infrastructure, namely a generator, when problems and threat of massive electricity deficiencies engulfed our city. This took its toll not only on our health but our spirits as well.

Other occurrences that dampened spirits and caused friction between a tightly knit team was broken promises. Swooned by ideas of growth and potential advancement during initiation, soon turned into, as the Americans would say, “A bunch of Baloney.” Assignments that were promised were not given; performance rated on closure of assignments was completely ignored; targets were not revised even after constant feedback. There was a constant pointless comparison with old employees and a general partiality of those favoured for apparently no performance related activity.

Effects – Psychological misery!!!


In conclusion, it is my sincere hope that this mail is taken in the right spirit and steps are taken to ensure that the environment, management and work model is brought up to speed so as to facilitate the professionalism that we as employees so rightly demand from ourselves.

The Key Ingredient

American idol made me think!! As Michael sang for the last time on that magnificent stage, I wondered…. what does it take to get there??

Guts!! How comfortable we are in our own little worlds, surround by the people who think and tell us we are God’s own shit!!!! It takes so much courage to get out there, stand in front of all those people and sing your heart out!!

But I have a theory…

How many of us think we are happy and satisfied?? When we are sitting, chilling, listening to music and immersed in our random thoughts. Do we think we are happy or do we think we are missing something??

Well, when I lounge and just drift away, pictures and conversations popping into my head, I always think.. God I’m so bloody happy!!! I have everything I need, a brilliant family, amazing friends, some achievements to talk about. I am positively satisfied!!

Don get me wrong, I mean.. I get totally frustrated often enough and have goals and dreams to fulfil just like everybody else. But at the end of the day, if I never become a huge rock star or never have somebody recognise me on the streets, it wouldn’t make an iota of a difference!!! This I believe is the single essential difference between a happy little girl and a star like Miley Cyrus!!

I’m not taking away from the fact that all these people are highly talented. But lets face it, there are a bunch of nobodies who would kick ass if only they were not so damn satisfied with being ordinary!!!

A second aspect to my theory is adversity!! How many times have we heard the come back-story?? Whether it is from a potentially fatal disease or from any other random fuck ups devastating. People always seem to fight harder, struggle longer and reach higher after they have fought to survive on this planet for just a few more moments. Glorious moments I might add!! Adversity in any sense seems to make people demand more from life. Let me give you a classic comparison to help explain my point.

I have two friends, both of whom I am very close to and both of whom I respect and love dearly. One has made a mark in sports, music and at his work place. Anything he does he seems excel at!! Friend No. 2 has done nothing significant at all. He lives a life that I would describe as a floating existence!! Never had to face any major problems except he occasional drowsy morning. To top it all, he is truly the epitome of happiness. If there were an award for the happiest guy in the world he would definitely be the strongest contender. Friend No. 1 on the other hand, is perpetually what me and my friends call, BLAH!! Most of his days are cloudy except for some sparse sunlight that seeps though the gaps (metaphorically speaking of course, cuz he lives in city that averages 24 degrees celsius on a pleasant day!!). His childhood was a struggle, adolescent years were no different. In his quest for independence he was lured like many unknowing boys his age into what uptight adults like to call ‘bad company!!’. He is a loner and I do believe that takes its toll on a person. Anyway, does anybody see the blatant contrast I am trying to make?? The stark difference that kinda hits you in the face??

Now, guess we have a choice to make!! Should we eat the apple and see the world – the good an evil, or just continue to live in our Garden of Eden?!?!

My choice?? Well all theories aside, I think I belong to the group of nobodies. But for those who are already there and those who are trying hard to get there, I wish you the best of luck!!! For the rest of us, the choice is still ours to make!!