Smokers and Terrorists are not allowed...

I hate smokers, I consider them a great threat to the society. I personally believe that they are the living examples of people with no civic sense cause if they had, they wont smoke, or at least they wont smoke at public places.

I'm facing disaster kind of situation now a days in my office, I don't know if I'm rude or blunt or just a pain-in-the-*** but I'm against smoking in my office or at least near my place. There was a time when my sweet office fellows use to smoke cigarettes, and then the time came when our regional creative director was called in for some help in a project, and that was the twist in the lives of the smokers in our office. He brought cigar with him, which was seen by my colleagues as a symbol of prestige or lets say symbol of being regional creative director so with this thought so many of my colleagues became cigar smokers.



Cigarette smell was unbearable to me and now I have to live with cigar smell around me which makes the situation more worst. There is one more funny thing to share, my office is going through re-arrangement after firing around 70% of employees now we are very few working here so we are moving to another place. While the management was working over seating arrangement they called me in and asked me if I want any specific place, I told them my only concern is a place with no smoking zone near me. They came back after some time and told me that they are thinking about putting me in a room with two other guys who are non-smokers and rest of the office will be smokers paradise. I was amazed at there this decision cause in the whole world its smoker who is given a small space (mostly open air balcony) for smoking and most of the office area is kept no-smoking but it was totally opposite in our office. Any how that was not there final decision, they are still working on it.

So after been through such second hand smoke times I made this statement

Smokers & Terrorists are not allowed

and pasted print-outs around my office. I believe some of the guys wont like it, but I think if they dont care for my likes / dislikes, I shouldn't be worry about there likes / dislikes as well...

Thank you
RebelDesigner (21 Oct, 2009) - 7:16PM
Riyadh - KSA

Does LOYALTY really exist (as employee)?

The world is facing down-times in terms of economical crises. Being part of this world (for now) I'm facing it as well. We (as human) have to learn from our experiences, no matter if its good or bad, but we should be happy cause we learned something. I've learned something from these crises which are effecting me (financially) a lot. My company just fired almost 70% of its employees. Luckily (or unluckily - hard to tell yet) I survived that and still part of the same company where I've given the best 8+ years of my life.

When they fired there employees, they fired even those who have been part of this company since 10 years. I know you (the reader) might say that they might not be a very talented or company had to get rid of people to survive... I wish this could have been a reason. They are fired because of the fight between two big giant partners of this company, they fired the GM. They fired who ever said they want to join him (as my X-GM is planning to open an advertising company) and they fired who ever they thought will be joining him. So this firing have been sort of political as well as economical.

Here came the question in my mind, DOES LOYALTY REALLY EXISTS?

And what I learned from my experience, that there is no such thing in this fast paced era. I made decisions in past, and I don't feel bad over them. But if now I'll be facing the same circumstances I believe my decision will be different just because I've learned that there is no such thing called "loyalty" .

So in my opinion we (as worker) should keep on improving our skills and when ever the time comes with better opportunity, simply join it before its too late (or before the next economy crises hits the mkt). Forget loyalty because we are workers we are here to work and surly we work for the sake of money (or to be more precise, maximum money: that can be earned in respectful way). We are not a piece of tissue that can be thrown after it is been used ... by the company.

And in this context I would like to share one interview script that I found over the internet somewhere which will help you understand the above written in a better way...

A brilliant interview

Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the "job hopper" (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the "company loyal" employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys “ the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:

Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.

Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?
A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.

Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.

Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying "employer loyalty". But I was an idiot.

Q: Why do you say so?
A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a "permanent" job, so I need not worry about "what will I do if I lose my job". I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.

Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.
A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being "company loyal" and not "money earning and saving loyal". But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving “ I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.

Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?
A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me “ can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.

Q: What have you gained by doing such things?
A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.

Q: So you decided on your own hike?
A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a "debt-free" life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.

Q: So are you debt-free now?
A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.

Q: Who is complaining?
A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me “ why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.

Q: What is your advice to professionals?
A: Like Narayan Murthy had said “ love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.

Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?
A: When a company does well, its CEO will address the entire company saying, "well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you. But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO will say, It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go. So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss..

Thanks
RebelDesigner (21 Oct, 2009 - 5:50pm)
Riyadh - KSA