Doesn't Work for Me

Ever heard of a senior colleague hankering for your attention for no particular reason? Well, at least not on the surface. And in the process, making a royal arse of himself? Or herself, as the case may be. And then behaving uppity about it as if you were at fault for not looking in the right direction because he is "not your friend," but a "senior"?

I am angry. And this post will be my vent. You may call it immature, impulsive, and impish and other IMs, but it has bothered me in instalments the past 11 months and is one of the few things that I want to share for the simple reason that it seems to happen to a lot of us, but most keep mum about it.

No, this doesn't qualify as harassment, but verges on it.

Who authorises this person to call after-hours or on holidays? Why does he need my presence in his subconscious existence? Why does it bother him so much that I don't care a fuck about him? How does it matter that a novice in the profession, not only in the organization, judges him at all, and then harshly?

What defines cordial professional relations? Especially in a set up like ours, which on the ground level is half an agency, and on a parent level, is as blue blooded a corporate as any other? More importantly, who draws the line between professional and working relationship? I have friends form work, for fuck's sake! People more my own than my own relatives. Must we confine ourselves to work, gossip and cribbing alone at work? Is that the extent of a professional association? If one is always allowed to choose one's friends, then why can't one also choose to withdraw from them when things go awry? Why is talking always considered a solution? Why is silence scorned upon?

What are the qualifiers for respect at the workplace? Age? Years in the institution? productivity? Personal relations? Accolades? The ability to impart what you know selflessly and not claim stake in another's achievement?

It is inconsequential to me that this human being chooses to attribute so much importance to a junior - much junior subordinate. What bothers me is his way of dealing with it. irrespective of his personal problems, which I was chosen to be privy of first hand, and which also add to my low opinion of the distinguished personality that he is, I choose to keep my distance from a person who will try to get too close too soon, over alcohol, and say mean things under its effects at bedtime over phone. I think this is perhaps the only human being I’ve had to "deal with" in Bombay. And it feels bad.