By Jaisurya Das
Apparently Ladies and Gentleman, man is made lazy! I heard this quite recently and was exceedingly thrilled with this revelation. Almost everything that I have been doing and not doing was amply justified the moment I heard this.
And since the operating word is lethargy, this week’s column has no customary long introduction, but goes instead straight to our Q&A for the week. Read on. You will enjoy it !
This time almost entirely from the city of Mumbai. Way to go Mumbai!!
My company has imposed a scheme of variable pay. But we don’t trust the company to pay us the entire variable pay as they can always say that the company hasn’t made enough profits. Are there any laws governing this? Should we ask HR to tell us where the company stands on parameters that will decide the performance of the company and where things stand now?
Thanks for writing in to Dear MxM! Yes, indeed the parameters are to be made transparent and hence you must check the fineprint. I know this isn’t easy since quite a few organisations stay from getting into the micros.
Unfortunately, there are no laws governing this, my friend. Incentives and variable pay are all component of remuneration in the private sector, and this is entirely the prerogative of the organisation and its functionaries.
So my advice would be to trust more and worry less! Go on with life, my friend. All will fall into place.
I really like my boss but I don’t want to join him in this large team that he’s leading out of the company to a rival. Please advise what I should do.
Simple. Do nothing! If you aren’t comfortable tagging along. Just decline and move on. Yes, you like your boss but that doesn’t mean that you forsake your job satisfaction..
By the way, I am curious to know as to to why you decided to stay on?
And yes, do have a nice and frank chat with your boss in order to put things in perspective for your mutual benefit! Â All the very best with this.
I don’t knowTamil and I have to relocate to Chennai as I need to take care of my boyfriend’s dogs (my bf is travelling to the US for a year). I am a journalist and am told – no Tamil, no job in Chennai? Life sucks! Vanakkam Saar (that’s the only one of two Tamil words I know), Tamil illay for me. Please help
Oh boy!! This is the strangest thing I have heard in a long time. I must say that I am most impressed with your devotion to purpose. Your boyfriend is sure lucky to have you as his dogsitter!
Jokes apart, this is certainly a very noble act that you are going to indulge in, and I sincerely hope his dogs are as fond of you
Now coming back to your question on Tamil, let me assure you that this is a whole load of rubbish. You can manage very well in Chennai without knowing the local language. I say this quite emphatically as I have stayed in this city long enough to know what works.
As long as you’re comfortable with English, Hindi etc, you can do famously at Chennai. It’s a wonderful city which grows on you,
Have a lovely time!
The person who sits next to me in the office bus wears a very strong fragrance. Some very 1990s scent, as they would call it. And I have developed an allergy to it. I even gifted her an EDT recently, but she said she only likes the one brand she wears. What should I do? And since I am the juniormost, I can’t swap seats with someone else.
Wonders will never cease will they!!! I must be a lucky man to get such interesting questions this week. Trust my readers from Mumbai to bowl these medium-paced googles at me.
Well, answer I must so. The simplest thing to do would be to have a change of place handle this. Additionally, you can be nice and have a 1990s type person take your place so that everyone is happy!
The other option would be to have your neighbourhood pharmacy get you one of those high end masks . Apparently, they keep away all odours and can be particularly helpful in dealing with BO, perfumed or otherwise.
Well, if this doesn’t work, mail me your CV and we shall try and find you a new job… the 2016 type !
All the best with your sensory pursuits. Amen.
And with this we come to the end of another smashing week on MxM. Do come back next Thursday for yet another edition of Dear MxM !
Meanwhile, feel free to mail us 24/7 on editor@mxmindia.com with Dear MxM and your city of residence in the subject line. God Promise, we will read this and do our best to answer all your queries 🙂
Au Revoir, my friends. Be well.
Jaisurya Das, the maverick media-evangelist eats, sleeps and romances brands! His cerebral consulting interventions are aimed at making brands powerful and sustainable.
He is also Contributing Editor of MxM India. For more information on his work visit www.xanadu.co.in. Â The views expressed in this column are his own.