Open Culture – Saviant way to Work Life Freedom
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Kunal Balchandani |
Oct 18, 2021
Kunal Balchandani
|
Oct 18, 2021
It's Monday, 12.36 pm to be precise, I am roaming around on my bike looking for fresh Spinach, because the missus wants to make Paalak Paneer for lunch and I suddenly come across a long lost friend, who is looking for a car mechanic to fix his broken down car for which he has taken a half day leave. We exchange pleasantries and he quickly pops a question, "Are you on leave today" And I am like "No, Why?"
He replies in a slightly surprised tone, "how can you be out on a weekday during prime work hours looking for vegetables, I am sure, you have lied to your Manager?"
I denied that claim saying, my Manager knows where I am and she is completely fine, because we don't clock hours for the sake of it, I will finish my tasks later in the day, infact that's the open and flexible culture we have in our organization, not only in terms of work timings but also in terms of being absolutely honest about doing house hold chores during weekdays and beyond.
And suddenly it got us talking about the so called "flexible work culture" which the IT industry works with the unsaid T&Cs of completion of estimated login hours.
The past year and a half because of the pandemic we have seen, the boundary between weekdays and weekends getting blurred and people struggling to juggle personal and professional commitments. So the fundamental question which an employee has in mind, is "how do I manage my professional and personal commitments?" And here is where I have seen Saviant, not just during the pandemic but ever since inception operating with a clear thought process. It has always been about being transparent and flexible, not just related to “working hours” but in every aspect of employee’s life cycle.
You can expect the "open office" culture in terms of the role you play, you aspire to play, how you want to play, your passion an so on... there is nobody above or beneath you, we all are one, but your are not alone. You can question anything, anyone on the floor, so as to say, "My office, my work, my way."
You don’t have to fill time sheets, you don’t have to seek approval before taking a leave (Yes you don’t).
This kind of culture has given every one of us the confidence of chasing excellence with clarity. The most encouraging part of this flexible work culture is that it allows you to fall, but we won’t let you fail.
It’s a culture that is built on strong values - building and nurturing relationships for life and solving problems, be it customers business or a member's personal or professional aspirations.
Having said that, I was about to ask my friend to join me for a glass of Lime juice which is when his phone rings and the name "BIG-BOSS" pops on his screen and I ask "Was that your wife?" He says "nope, that was my manager asking when will I be online?" And at that moment I felt woow, I should be appreciative of my manager and the organization for allowing me to breath and building a culture that's beyond words and policies.
Once he is done with his requests for an extension of 60 mins, we get his car repaired and are on our way, where one guy is about to enjoy the sumptuous meal his wife is going to cook while the other is racing home to send a PPT his manager is expecting in his inbox ASAP.