The demise of a young ex-colleague on 6th of january made me instrospect and pen a few lines which may resonate with some 😊 ……….
In the corridors of corporate life, relationships often bloom under fluorescent lights. Over shared deadlines, challenges, and coffee breaks that feel like friendship.
There’s laughter in late meetings, trust built in tense moments, and unspoken bonds that seem to run deep.
Yet, when someone leaves, whether by choice or circumstance, the silence is often sudden. Corporate culture, with its unrelenting pace and invisible hierarchies, quietly discourages staying in touch.
Some fear being seen as disloyal. Others worry that their growth path might be shadowed if they associate with someone who has moved on. So, in the name of “professional distance,” connections fade, one message at a time.
Strangely, corporate and work life takes so much time from an individual’s existence that many are left with not much choice and time but to consciously cultivate and establish friendships at their workplace. Only to realise much later that the culture disapproves of friendships created at work as soon as someone leaves that environment.
And yet, humanity does not vanish with an office badge. A few still choose to reach out, to check on an old colleague, to stay connected not for advantage, but for goodwill. Knowing well that whatever decisions that were being taken at work, whether good or bad, were just that – work related.
Those simple gestures become acts of quiet courage. Small defiance against a culture that often prioritizes position over personhood. In them lies the heartbeat of authenticity. The reminder that it is possible to be ambitious and yet be genuinely kind, successful and yet be sincere.
One day, when the titles, deadlines, and business cards lose their edge, it’s these moments of warmth that echo longest. Because true character is not proven when the world watches, but when there’s no obligation to be kind, and one chooses to be anyway.
When positions fade and titles fall away, what remains is the grace with which we treated each other.
It is easy to rise by holding positions. It is graceful to rise by holding values.
A short pause to read, to introspect, and then to carry on with our individual rat races and hamster wheels. Its good to see even many of the retirees on their self-created hamster wheels 🙂
