STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World
CARE: This is Chapter 68 of my book Stress, Success and Everything In-Between. These are individual anecdotes but to understand the professional journey in totality, I would recommend reading the book right from Chapter 01 onwards.
It was
like a scene straight out of a wacky sitcom. The clock had struck seven, and
the sprawling bank premises were eerily quiet, with only a handful of officers
scattered here and there concentrating on their last-minute jobs. I was getting
ready to pack up and head home when I suddenly heard someone yelling incoherently. It sounded like a wild animal who had escaped from its natural habitat! Curious,
I stepped out of the office room to investigate.
And
there he was - the Bank Guard on duty, stumbling down the staircase like a
newborn giraffe, except he wasn't cute or cuddly. He was totally sloshed! To
make matters worse, he was clutching a loaded gun like it was his favourite
toy. I knew I had to act fast and asked the other guards to disarm him quickly.
I learnt it was
not the first time our drunkard friend had behaved this way. He had had a
history of similar drama on the job. After getting him disarmed, I sent a staffer to escort him home before he turned
the staircase into his personal Slip 'N Slide with indiscreet fireworks from
his gun.
That evening, instead of taking disciplinary action against him for drinking while on duty, I thought of some HR intervention. Next day, I asked an officer to counsel him followed by a small talk on the harm alcoholism could have caused to him and his family. He stood there like a statue without any response or reaction, much to my chagrin. Next day, I asked a local officer to visit his house and talk to his wife to enlist her help for stopping him from excessive drinking. But boy, was I in for a surprise!
The officer visited the Guard's house, after office hours, to talk to his wife but was shocked to find that the wife was in a worse state than the husband. He reported that the Guard could at least speak but his wife was totally drunk, dhutt as they say in Hindi. She could not even sit up or utter a word properly. In fact, getting tipsy was a family tradition passed down through generations of the hill tribe they belonged to, he further shared.
I hit my forehead with my hand. How do I implement HR measures when everyone in the family drank like a fish? Should I try to teach a fish to ride a bicycle?
(To be continued...)
*****
11 comments:
I suspect that these HR measures come in handy because it is so hard to take proper measures including a fitting punishment to the misbehaving staff even when on duty.
Dinesh Kumar Jain
नाद्रव्ये निहिता काचित्क्रिया फलवती भवेत्।
न व्यापारशतेनापि शुकवत्पाठ्यते बक:।।
- हितोपदेश
Hitopadesh
Investment made in an
unsuitable object never
bears fruit. Make a
hundred attempts, you
cannot train a crane as
you can a parrot.
फूलइ फलइ न बेत जदपि सुधा बरषहिं जलद।
मूरख हृदय न चेत जौं गुर मिलहिं बिरंचि सत।।
- रामचरितमानस।
- Ramacharitmanas
Though the clouds rain nectar upon it, the reed neither blossoms nor bears fruit,so the heart of a fool learns not wisdom though he may have a hundred Brahmaas for his teachers.
Prannath Pankaj
No HR intervention can work in such cases except the hard measures in which case his family would eventually suffer.
Ashok Kumar Goyal
Should have immediately taken disciplinary action as this was a serious threat to employees as well as customers.
Sometimes being kind in extreme situations can backfire and not worth taking a chance with a guy who has a firearm.
Rakesh Govil
Story highlights the complexities behind seemingly simple HR issues. Addressing a complex issue like this would test anyone’s leadership skills but turns out, the only thing they didn’t teach you at the bank was how to out-counsel a generational drinking habit.😜🤪😛
Gulshan Kumar Dhingra
There are two facets of discipline - the carrot and the stick. The HR approach is the carrot and disciplinary action is the stick. You can’t function properly as a manager unless you use both.
Pankaj Varma
उस बैंक की अफसरी का बस इतना फ़साना था, इक आग का दरिया था और डूब के जाना था। ईश्वर का धन्यवाद कि बेदाग़, सही सलामत रिटायर हो गए। बाकी, जैसा स्वर्गीय श्री पीटर के सिद्धांत (शायद दूसरे) के अनुसार , पदानुक्रम में सब लोग अपनी अपनी अक्षमता के उच्चतम स्तर तक पहुंच ही गए! 👍😂
Rajeshwar Kaushik
Bewda family. Fairly common scene in many Punjab branches.
Vijay Gupta
Three cheers for the hill tribes!!!🤣
Aloke Shah
Drinking is quite common among most tribes . It is acceptable to them and in merry making and festivals it is kosher.. But alcoholism is another thing .
My Nepali cook cum housekeeper has just returned from a 3 month break from her village near Siliguri . Her DIL ran away to Delhi leaving a 4 year old daughter . It seems she drinks like a fish , not Chhang their native brew , but hard liquor . Indian Nepalis exposed to Tourism in a big way , are not what they used to be . The girls want the high life they see on TV , and the big malls , mobile connectivity , good clothes , Tattoos , drinking and partying .
In Telangana where I live , alcohol is drunk more than water, among the hoi polloi. Debt , disrupted homes , and early deaths are rampant .
Thankfully the women are fairly safe in the south , unlike the North.
Manju Iyengar
No doubt, the drinking culture has evolved over time. However, your ability to tackle difficult situations with empathy still impresses.
Rukkie Oberoi
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