World Cup Match OR Lemon Race?

So today is the day. Call it a war or just a game, the match between India and Pakistan is the hottest topic that is going round the sub-continent today.


So those who are reading this on 30th March 2011 before 2.30 pm from office computer, you did not apply for leaves OR your leaves were not granted OR you have hell lots of work particularly today OR you hate the game called Cricket.


Well, I work in HCL Technologies and I am kind of person who do not love cricket. But certainly I do tab on what is going around my world to boost up my general knowledge. So cricket fits into my area of interest just as another piece of news.


In the last quarter final match I was there in the office. Few guys went to Cafeteria when the match started. Admin guys started the television for few minutes and then stopped the television and took away the set-top box. People started browsing crickinfo dot com and internet connection went down from Gurgaon office. Wao, what a scene! Few crazy guys started playing FM radio 106.4 MHz and listened to live commentary.


Few questions that I wanted to ask (it might happen that these are the same set of questions that you too wanted to ask but you never attempted to do) –


• Why do you allow crickinfo dot com in HCL network?
• Why did we shut off the television when Indian team’s match was telecasted?
• Where did the set-top box go? Where from the Admin team was enjoying the match with the same set-top box?
• Do we really need to play the TV and telecast “Sheila ki jawani” during lunch hours?
• Why do you allow “Lemon race/Sack race/kite designing competition” for employees?
• Oh I forgot – You organize valentines’ day week too at office.
• You have a badminton court at the basement where you allow employees to play badminton.
• You have TT and Pool games table for employees. Why?
• You have extra-miles programs that has never delivered what it was supposed to deliver.


Let me answer. You want employees to be engaged. Yes *Engaged* to do something beyond your routine work, pursue their hobbies, make work place as fun place as possible etc etc. If you believe running TV during important matches will reduce the productivity of employees, then organizing Mr. and Mrs. Valentines’ day would do the same effect. So is your Lemon Race and Sack race. Also if you don’t run “Munni Badnam” during the lunch hour, employees will not stop eating their lunches. C’mon you are just trying to entertain employees by doing all such stuff – TV, kite designing, diwali sajawat competition, traditional dress day and that’s how you are trying make the workplace a fun place – a place where employees would love to come every day, day after day.

If you don’t allow to run TV during today’s match then you are playing with employees’ emotion. Many of us have already taken leaves with so many excuses and many will leave half day to watch this match. Don’t assume they will work and they will not open crickinfo and play fm radio. You can only shut down the TV, not their mind.


HR/Admin Guys – If you are reading this and if you care for employees, turn on the TV at 2.30 pm today and make HCL a place where employees will proudly say – “Humhare office me toh bade screen me match laga diya tha HR/Admin walo ne”. If not, then stop all these silly school games that you impose on employees in the name of “Employee First Council”.