This story relates to the time when I was a fresh recruit for an IT firm in Mumbai. I had finished my training and was pre-mapped to a project. All good values had been imparted to us such as being respectful, considerate, talking to everyone with a smile on your face. The project seemed good, inspiring us to perform better and opening new horizons of onsite opportunities. I was initially shouldered with the responsibility of providing application support for the most complex module. In my initial days, I used to devote extra hours to build understanding. Being an observant person, I noticed some 2-3 seniors from my team sitting late without any work at hand, one of them being in my module. It did not bother me until the time when the one from my module started sitting at my desk for most of the working hours. At times, he passed personal comments such as “Why don’t you apply a lip balm?” or “Your shirt seems tight!” One day, he asked me for a movie to which I denied saying, “I don’t go out for movies late night.” The very next day I heard the bunch talking loudly to each other and saying “We are good guys, we don’t go out for movies late night.” I had started doubting myself. My confidence was crushed. On some days they would leave the office when I left and would insist to drop me home to which I politely refused. This had started affecting my work because these seniors were in my team, they had a say in the distribution of work and my appraisals. Being a fresher, I had no clue what to do. Recurrent thoughts of quitting my job haunted me each day. But having an attitude of being persistent and facing the challenges helped me. I had made up my mind to report this behavior to my Manager. I approached my Team Lead for guidance. I narrated him the complete scenario and urged him to help me take action. He informed the Manager. The Manager did not take any strict action against them but asked them to refrain from making personal comments. That behavior did stop but it had hit me big time. The gossip of the incident spread like wildfire and I was already famous at onsite as well as offshore. With this, I came in touch with senior female associates who informed me about several other incidents by these seniors in the past. I wondered why these associates had not voiced their grievances. For me, self-respect is above everything. With one warning, the project dynamics changed for all the female associates in the project.
When we get into our first job, we believe in a perfect world. We often tend to neglect the fact that this world is made up of humans like you and me who are not all perfect. In such testing situations, we must never doubt ourselves. I believe it is extremely crucial to voice our opinions. Had it been done earlier, I wouldn’t have faced all that. I am extremely grateful to my Team Lead as he has helped me rebuild my confidence from ashes. We always have an option of fight or flight. What keeps us moving is courage. By now, you might be wondering what's the point of telling this story here. Remember that shirt which was too tight? That was from Van Heusen by Aditya Birla Group. From that day and beyond, whenever I look at that shirt, I see courage. That's why Aditya Birla Group is very close to my heart. And yes, I have successfully completed three years of experience in the same project. These lessons are a part of me now.
