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Haunted: The burning woman

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All my life, I have heard ghost stories in my school, colleges, and offices. Rather it is safe to say that my school, colleges, and all workplaces were haunted. All stories I heard were the first person accounts.  This story is from one of my workplaces. This story is not for the faint hearted. The story of the burning woman. I had joined a new company. I was in my induction and probation days. As I was new, I was following the "standard rules" such as lay low, follow the orders of superiors, complete the work before the deadline, and avoid old colleagues' gossips.  It was one fine evening, around 6:45 PM I was still in the office. The official log off time was 5 PM, however I was waiting for my boss to tell me to leave (yes, I was that type of employee). Additionally, I had a deliverable with me for completion. Most staff members had already left. In an office of around 150 people capacity, only 6-7 people remained including me. A few seats across sat a senio...

Nihilist penguin

Today I came across several posts on social media featuring the new internet sensation "The Nihilist penguin". Some posts had the picture of the penguin facing a mountains. Whereas some posted a ahort clup of penguin walking towards the mountains. The clip or picture is from a documentary from 2007 and is going viral in 2026. That's how the internet works. Anything can go viral at any point of time without context. The scientific documentary claimed that the penguin may have an illness or infection which altered its abilities to identify the safety. Because of the condition the penguin fails to navigate to the safety (following the group and going to the sea) and heads straight to death (walking towards mountains at least 70km away where there will be no food). But internet has its own theories. The popular most is that the penguin is Nihilist. He is fed up of following the group, wants to break free even if it leads to death. While the scientific evidence is the correct ...

Notice period: Week 4

Week 4 of my notice period was surprising. Because apparently it was my last working week of the notice period.  Usually in my organisation the notice period is of 90 calendar days. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday it is pushed back. In my scenario when I had a resigned from my company I was not on production. As per the company policy if the employee is not on the production they can be released early. This held true for me.  The week started just like any other working week. On Wednesday the HR called me and told me about certain documents that would be required. During this time HR did gingerly inform me that probably this will be my last working week. However it was not concretely told to me that it will be the last working week. Additionally I was not also informed about my last working day especially which date it is.  On Thursday I received a call from the HR informing that it is my last working day. I was informed to meet a person who is incharge of c...

Notice period: Week 3

We entered the 3rd week of my notice period. I am still waiting to hear from the management and HR abput my last working day, though an early release is planned. I believe I will be released only by yhe end of this month. Most activities have already been transferred or reversed. This week I killed time in the office with not much to do. I was really looking forwards to the breaks (lunch and coffee). One of my colleagues was off work due to a family emergency. I spent time with the other colleague.  We chatted about a lot of relevant and irrelevant topics. She shared an incident with me when she had lost temper and management did not intervene. I agreed that the management here does not want to get their hands dirty. They do not participate in conflict resolution. The project had arranged a high tea for the staff. They had arranged it on a day when most staff members were fasting (I believe it was intentional). My supervisor taunted that I don't eat and hence I have health issues. ...

Notice period: Week 2

This week marked the completion of my second week of the notice period.  While I have not been assigned with any new responsibilities, my existing responsibilities continued.  A new person was appointed to replace me. This person is more experienced and qualified than me. I provided him with an orientation. I informed my close friend about my decision and ahe supported me. We talked about how the younger generations are incompatible with us. An HR representative met me and enquired about my reason for resignation. I provided the history of my health issue. She tried to guilt trip me into believing that I should have informed about it before being selected to this project. I responded that this was a long standing health issue. Recent episode occurred after joining this project which prompted me to make this decision. Rest other days were when I saw less people because of new year celebrations. Then came the weekend.  I have been informed that I may receive an early releas...

Notice period: Week 1

I have been working for over 17 years now. I completed my graduation and immediately I started applying for jobs. A month after the graduation, I was employed. Ever since, I have worked. I resigned this week after 17 years of hard core labour. I decided to end the corporate job and find another way. I have not yet decided what is the next step, but for sure it is not another corporate job. After 17 years, I am now experiencing a burnout. I cannot work for 15+ hours a day. I cannot work on weekends and holidays anymore. I don't want to give up on my personal time for extra credits towards the next potential big thing. More importantly, I don't want to destroy my health for the sake of unattainable expectations. After resigning, I felt relieved in a way I never felt before. I felt that significant weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I am no longer worried about appraisal, promotion, escalation, or any other corporate weight.  There is still a long way to go. There will be...

Management lesson: Commercial value

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Based on a true story. Once upon a time, in a wealthy city, there was a famous art institute. This art institute was the best and the biggest in the state. Art students from all over the nation wanted to be accepted into this institute. This institute catered to the academic needs of various budding artists. This prestigious art institute had a long standing tradition. Every year in the beginning of spring, this institute would arrange an art festival, where the pupils had the opportunity to showcase their talent. This art festival was unique and showed the great talents of the students. Renowned artists from all over the world would visit this festival. Students whose work was featured in the art festival would get job opportunities. The success of the art festival would improve the reputation of the art institute as well as provide a platform for art students display their work to the wider audiences. This art festival started gaining popularity among the masses. Irrespec...