in Pursuit of Happyness

The other day, mom was sitting at her cubicle staring at the monitor when the CEO walked by.

Having worked for companies where the CEO was a shadowy presence - rumored to be working on his tan in the Bahamas with trophy wife no. 6 - it’s always somewhat of a novelty for mom to see the founder and CEO of her present workplace pace the hallway, tossing ideas into the air at the same speed he checks his BlackBerry.

“How’s it going?” he asked, stopping at mom’s desk. “Everything OK?”

“Yes …,” answered mom slowly, suspiciously wondering if he was about to throw a project her way.

“Are you happy?” he asked instead.

The shock must have registered on mom’s face because he lingered, as though her answer would make a difference in his day.

“Y-yes,” stammered mom, trying to recover her composure.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” replied mom, flashing her best Colgate smile.

As the man walked away to attend to matters of corporate importance, mom’s initial reaction was to speed dial dad and bark over the telephone, “The CEO just asked me if I was happy. When was the last time you asked me about my feelings?”

Instead, she pulled myself together and continued to stare at the computer monitor, pretending to be v-e-r-y busy in case he walked by again.

“What is happiness?” she mulled. “Is it a state of mind or a feeling? … Why does chocolate make me happy when I know it’s bad for me? … Can happiness be maintained or is it an elusive state of mind - here one moment and gone the next? … Would I be happier holidaying on the beach or in the mountains this winter? ….”

Far from achieving a state of bliss, such metaphysical pondering merely resulted in a throbbing ache in her temples – a condition that could be alleviated only by a steaming cup of syrupy-sweet cardamom tea from the vending machine in the corridor.

Back at her work station a few minutes later with her belly sated and the headache at a reprieve, mom thought about the most frequently asked question directed at her ever since she started working - “How do you like your new job?”

Everybody she’s recently come in contact with (bar the newspaper delivery person and the milkman who start their day earlier than she does) has asked mom about her job. “It’s nice,” she replies, without going into any specifics. Maybe what these people really want to know is, “Are you happy?”

So, after a lot of thought - which involved another walk to the tea vending machine for inspiration - mom arrived at the following reasons that contribute, in a small way, to her happiness quotient at work.

1. Given the average age of the work force, there are days when she feels she’s back in college. She watches young women blush over something their male co-worker said. She sees couples coyly sharing food from the same plate in the cafeteria. She hears single girls giggling and whispering on the cell phone in the restroom or discussing a prospect who replied to their profile on Jeevansathi.com. The only difference from college is that everybody’s better dressed and the men have actually bothered to shave before showing up in the morning.

2. Nobody butchers her name anymore. After hearing variations of her name from non-Indians for years, mom no longer has to repeat herself or cringe when people address her by first name.

3. She can wear whatever she wants to work without worrying about a human resources representative photocopying the dress code page from the Employee Handbook and leaving it on her desk with the “No denims” policy highlighted in red.

4. The reaction on people's faces when they find out how old her older child is. "Oh, quite old!" said a guy doing the math aloud. "You mean me, right?" mom teased. "No, no ... your child, I meant," he replied, trying to salvage the situation. I'll bet!

5. As if it’s not enough that the CEO actually walks the hallways, he uses abstractions such as “Fun” when he talks of employee engagement. (Most corporate communicators will point out that using the terms “fun” and “CEO” in the same sentence is an oxymoron.)

6. Compared to mom’s former company’s top-level management whose approachability factor - despite their declarations of an open door policy - rivaled that of the Sai Baba’s, some of the top people in this company are not above mingling with the masses, especially at lunch time in the cafeteria.

7. Generous vacation time, flex time, Diwali bonus for no reason, offsites and parties every quarter on company dime – what’s not to love?

8. Did I mention the unlimited cardamom tea in the vending machine, accompanied by complimentary cookies?

There, it’s your turn now - what are some of the reasons your workplace brings a smile to your face? (Aw, come on, there has to be at least one!)