Farewell then, Corporate World .....

The average person spends 91,250 hours, or 11,406 days of their life working. That’s a lot of time spent doing something which is usually controlled by the whims of others and which is not always entirely pleasurable. I started my own working life at the tender age of 13, it was of course a part time job, washing dishes in a local hotel to earn a bit of spending money. It was tough work - along with the plates I had to scrub pots which were invariably covered with sticky burnt on goo which would take me hours to scrub clean. But it earned me some pocket money and gave me a taste of financial freedom, even if my “salary” was blown as soon as I got it on records and nail varnish. Since those days of menial but often fun jobs, I’ve worked pretty much non-stop, with the exception of a year off spent backpacking around Asia when I was thirty. That’s ten years of casual work in kitchens, restaurants, bars and clubs, and a further eighteen years of “proper” career type work. Phew.

In recent months, I’ve started to tire of the corporate life. Though I’ve moaned for years about having to get up in the morning and go into the office, this time I knew that something was different. I’ve always been a workaholic, totally obsessed by my work and invariably glued to my Blackberry or laptop, but suddenly I found myself genuinely bored of my corporate environment and all that goes with it. The intense, opinionated meetings were no longer stimulating but instead had become exhausting. The office itself had changed from a place which simultaneously motivated and energized me to a space which I found uninspiring and unimaginative. In short, I’d lost my corporate mojo and it was time to take the toughest decision of all – to give it all up and follow my heart.

And so I handed in my notice and began the process of disengaging myself from the workplace. As I cleared out the detritus of four years worth of corporate life from my cabin, I found myself torn between regret and joy and got to thinking about the whole concept of working for a living, at least in the 9-5 sense.

Every workplace is essentially a microcosm of the world - filled with stereotypes, all co-existing in a super intensified, essentially artificial environment. There are the popular types, the ones who organize the office parties, trips to the pub, push the HR department to organize offsites and other jollies, and who think themselves the life and soul of the party. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find that they have fairly miserable lives outside the workplace and that they compensate for their sad social lives by reinventing themselves within the office. Then there are the slackers, those who arrive late every morning, spend hours concocting elaborate excuses for their tardiness in between updating their Facebook status, and delight in the indoors smoking ban, which means they can go and take long smoke breaks. There are the brown nosers, who spend their careers climbing the greasy pole, obsessed with promotion, and the perks of the job, and who invariably trample on anyone else who gets in their way. Alongside these there are the sad secretaries who have been resentfully stuck in the same job for 25 years and who find ever inventive ways to heighten their own sense of self importance, the bright young kids fresh out of college who think they already know it all, and the sloggers who hold the place together, quietly and with little fuss, typically putting in eighteen hour days to earn a pitiful share of the rewards. And of course there are the bosses – the popular ones, the nasty ones, those who resent the success of others and those who encourage it.

Given that we spend half of our waking day (or more) at work, it’s hardly surprising that we develop a strange and often obsessive relationship with it. The office becomes a surrogate family for many, the place where ambitions can be realized and dreams fulfilled, where all are equal (depending on how robust and fair the appraisal system is) and most importantly where there is a non stop flow of coffee, tea, light, air conditioning and clean loos. No small benefits for many who live in extended, crowded families or who are struggling to make ends meet. There is an important psychological relationship with the workplace – it gives a sense of self worth and achievement, measured out in the completion of the ‘to do’ list and the praise and thanks of others. Many people define themselves by their work - in India in particular, work and “designation” are a measure of status. A regular office job gives you credibility in the eyes of friends and family and may even affect your marriage prospects (most candidates for arranged marriages send their resumes in advance!). Leaving the workplace, whether by choice or by design, can have a significant impact – the feelings of self worth and affirmation may be replaced by insecurity and fear for the future once the reassuringly regular salary stops and the visiting card can no longer be flashed.

Those who do make the choice to forge a life outside the security of a corporate workplace often look down upon those who choose a “regular” job. They accuse them of “selling out”, of failing to listen to their heart and living a subjugated existence at the whim and mercy of someone who happens to have a bigger car and a larger office. The reality, in my view is that both worlds are viable and respectable and the key is to know when to run from the corporate world, and when to hang on to it for dear life. The global recession has made many people cling on to jobs they hate, and though sad, that is an inevitable part of any economic downfall. On the other hand there are people, particularly in India with its reverse trend buoyant economy, who are leaving the rat race to start up their own businesses, or even to simply take a break. Both are worthy paths, depending on one’s state of mind, self confidence and of course financial stability. Personally, I can’t wait to embark on my own brand new challenge, although I have a funny feeling I am going to miss the office gossip and bitchy anecdotes.