Thursday, September 25, 2008

Hello world, I’m WFH!

I am whistling, opps working from home (WFH)! My wish of composing a mail with the similar subject line is soon going to be a reality.

A small one-liner, not-so-important mail means a lot to me. Sounds funny, huh! Lest I get emotional, you need to read this story…
It all started more than a year ago, when the bumpy roads of Pune affected my lower back. Orthopedic surgeon got scared after knowing the fact that I drive 10 miles daily to work and consulted me to go for an MRI scan.

Next is what? Stuck in acute pain, I applied for WFH option. Looking at the response from the HR department, I felt I’ve seriously done something wrong.

Like a true government organization (hey, did you hear BrinhanMumbai Municipal Corporation - BMC) WFH option starts from a certain band, and poor me, I didn’t fall under that category.

However, the HR department did advise me to take necessary medical test and get it certified by the company-appointed doctor, and the doctor has the final say. Spend 6K for an MRI scan and the scan report suggested that I should refrain from driving such a long distance.

However, the MRI report didn’t satisfy the doctor to give me a go. Rather, he resorted to a holistic approach and started explaining me all the possible means and methods of getting rid of this pain. It took no time to understand he’s parroting management’s view, perhaps in a different way.

So my wish to WFH dashed into the yard, and I continued commuting to work with pain. Hopes revived when my director who came from US to Pune for a business trip and promised to take this matter to the authorities. However, that didn’t yield any different result.
Cut to June 2008, new job, new location. My employer, Big Blue, values a lot when it comes to wasting time on beating long city traffic, and encourages WFH.

Now, broadband connection is up and running (BSNL, thanks), can get connected to the office networks, and all set to sent the mail.

Hello world...

1 comment:

Anindita Basu said...

In my previous job, I used to commute 40 kms daily (20 each way), so I know exactly how painful your back would've been. Now that I am in Big Blue myself, the WFH option is a great bonus. Only, I stay less than 5 kms from office, and Big Blue is also known to behave like government agencies. :-) Do you think they'll ask for a med cert at Big Blue too?