New Year is coming and for those who have just resigned from their present employers for a new opportunity; a new job is also coming. With a new job comes a new life. It is very similar to getting a new birth (with some obvious differences of course) but the future of a new life or a new job will always depend on what that person did today.

In 2005, I was on the rear seat of the scooter when my senior was driving. The person driving ahead of us on the road was driving like he had no driving sense. My senior shouted at him, “gadi theek se chalani nahin aati hai kya” (don’t you know how to drive properly). The person got angry and the first thing he said was, “Main press reporter hoon (I am a press reporter), don't you dare touch me".

During my schooldays it was in fashion to criticize the teachers. Almost the same trend I could observe in college too. Later, when I joined the corporate world, I noticed that the one who received the most criticism was the “Boss” (also known as manager). I could hear several people saying, “People don’t change jobs, they change managers” or the same thing in different words, “People leave managers, not companies”. Surprisingly, (many times) the boss actually does not deserve much criticism.

After shopping in the mall with his girlfriend Roma, Leo returned to the parking and found that his helmet was missing. They could not go out without helmet as there was a risk of fine by traffic police.

While Leo was still thinking, Roma picked up another helmet from a nearby bike and gave it to Leo. Leo hesitated but accepted when she said, "is there anything else you can do to avoid fine. Would the traffic police believe that your helmet was stolen."  They both drove away with that helmet.

Somewhat similar happens with office chairs. If someone took your chair or if your chair has a problem, you take some other chair. When that person returns (whose chair you took) he looks for some other chair and this continues forever but the problem remains. Such short term solutions seldom help. 

रात के १२ बज रहे थे. यह सोने का समय था परन्तु मनोज की आँखों में नींद न थी. रह रह कर उसे अपने माता पिता का विचार आ रहा था. जब से नौकरी के फेर में पड़ा है पैसा तो मिल रहा है परन्तु माता पिता के सान्निध्य का सुख कहीं खो गया है. अपने शहर बनारस गए उसे कितना ही समय हो गया. कहने को तो दूरभाष (फ़ोन) पर बात जब चाहे हो जाती है परन्तु वो है तो दूर ही न.

​मेरे एक परिचित हैं जो अपने साथ काम करने वाले एक व्यक्ति से बहुत व्यथित हैं. संयोग की बात है कि यह साथ वाला उनके साथ रहता भी है (रूम पार्टनर). उनका कहना है कि उन्होंने उस व्यक्ति के लिए लोगों से लड़ाई मोल ली, उसकी पग पग पर सहायता की और आज वही उनको हल्के में लेने लगा है. छोटी छोटी बातों पर उनका अपमान करता है और अवसर मिलने पर उनके साथ चालाकी करते भी नहीं चूकता. यह सज्जन उनका बाल भी बाँका नहीं कर पाते.
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Several people I know come home from the office very tired. They say they are stressed out everyday on a mental level. Some of those I know have reported unnecessary aggressive behaviors while some are depressed or continuously thinking about the events that happened throughout the day. Stress and depression are so common these days that even children are familiar with these terms.

​To overcome this problem several employers have started providing meditation halls at the work floor for their employees, and provide periodic sessions on yoga and meditation. Then, there are employers who conduct fun activities on the work floor, take the employees for parties (including alcoholic beverages), some provide Gyms, Table Tennis or Snooker Table etc. But do these techniques help?