Great Indian Job Bazaar—2004
Wows & woes at work

Some worked to win. Some worked at an idea. Some eyed others’ jobs. Some worked to lose their job. The people handling the top jobs in India and elsewhere made sure that 2004 was a mixed bag for the Great Indian Job Bazaar. Chetna Keer Banerjee takes a rear view of the people and plans that kept the job mart abuzz this year:

Earth-shaking job plan of the year

It could literally have had earth-shaking implications for the Indian job market. The credit for making a grand bid to turn us into a nation of earthen pot (kulhad) manufacturers can go to none other than Laloo Yadav. The ambitious plan announced by the Union Railway Minister to replace plastic cups with earthen containers at railway stations not only contained the potential of generating thousands of jobs but also making kulhad-making the next popular career option, at least for rural India. Never mind if the scheme was not on the right track, Laloo did manage to sound like a true son of the soil with his fetish for all things earthen.

Stressful job of the year

The debate between George Bush and John Kerry certainly did manage to outsource a lot of stress to the Indian BPO firms this year. The US presidential race had the pulse of the call centre industry racing with panic and anxiety. For, the Democrat candidate’s stance that the back-office jobs offshored to India and elsewhere actually belonged to the Americans did not Kerry much favour with our desi BPO lobby. With the return of Bush to the White House the call centre industry may not have got much of a push but it did Kerry good tidings for the thousands of stress-ridden youth and employers in this sector.

Mismanagement guru of the year

Former HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi’s proposed cut in the fee of India’s premier management institutes from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 30,000 per annum not only raised the heckles of the entire B-school fraternity but in a way also cost him his job. Seen more as a pre-electoral sop for the student community than a genuine bid to facilitate higher education of poor students, Joshi’s plan smacked more of opportunity management than change management. By further retracting his announcement in the face of public pressure, he totally mismanaged the whole issue.

Suitable boy of the year

With many foreign countries, particularly Mauritius, Sri Lanka, UAE and Singapore actively wooing our IITs for setting up base on their soil, Brand IIT appears to be the most sought after match by foreign academic centers. Ongoing negotiations with the National University of Singapore should see a marriage between the varsity and IIT-Bombay early next year. While the IITs have entered into collaborative efforts with research organisations abroad earlier too, this is expected to be a marriage for keeps.

Pawar-ful team of the year

It was an issue that made corporate India voice its opposition without reservation. The Centre’s letter seeking an affirmative action plan on reserving jobs in the private sector gave industry associations a new project to work on. That of devising alternate strategies, like offering to upgrade the skills and work-generating capabilities of the disadvantaged sections of society without being bound to reserve quotas for them. With Sharad Pawar being asked to head of a group of ministers to examine the scope of reservation in corporate houses, India Inc is pitted against a pretty Pawar-ful team.

Office party of the year

It certainly wasn’t all work and no play here. Stepping up efforts to check the growing attrition levels in the industry, BPO units turned the workplace into one big party and a shop-till-you-drop stop. From in-house gym facilities to on-the-job shopping bonanzas, the scale and spread of recreational and retention activity touched a new high this year for the work-weary call centre youth. Great bargains on FMCGs, hot deals on wheels and irresistible credit card, cell phone and loan packages came calling right at their doorstep. This ushered in a lifestyle change that gave the party-ing shot to the drab desk routine. With so many shopping schemes lined up at the BPO door, the employees could literally be said to be talking shop.

— Illustrations by Sandeep Joshi