To sacrifice what you love is possibly the worst pain of all. To be honest, I didn't realise the extent to which my wife loved to work till I married her. We knew each other well enough before we got married, so there was no surprises about her passion to work. But, that she could switch three modes of transport, wading through knee deep water, in pouring rain, haggle with those auto guys refusing a short ride, and could still wear her beautiful smile when she walked in home, wasn't the bubbly girl I thought I knew. This was passion at a different level.
So one morning when she walked in and said she got an offer from another company a name whose name I hardly knew, I was genuinely happy coz it meant less travel. Little did I then knew this little known company (then to me) would blow my heart away in so many ways that, they went out of the way to accommodate her every single time she felt her dream was nearly shattered.
The reasons for this uncertainties if I have to put it simply was coz of my nature of work. A husband in Navy isn't the best recipe for a happy marriage for a girl with such fierce passion to work. But we thought we shall work something out. Though easily said than done, it needed a divine intervention of sort to 'Work things out'. Which is exactly what happened when she joined this firm.
Less than a year into her job (4 months to be precise), I got transferred from Mumbai to Kalpakkam (For the uninitiated, it is 80 odd kms from chennai and that alone gives you a sneak peek into my world of uncertainties). She continued to work out of her office in mumbai and I shifted to kalpakkam. Few months past, we weren't sure how long we could 'work this thing out'. She knew I wouldn't ask her to quit but staying apart was hurting her too. She fell ill and needed hospitalisation, but I wasn't there. Despite our best efforts we were sure we weren't moving forward. She was just a year into her job, and in a dilemma already on the future of it. Quiting seemed to be the only logical option but then its easier said than done. Whats good of a sacrifice if that doesnt ensure your happiness.
Just then she was offered an opportunity to continue out of an office 30 kms from kalpakkam. An office her employer 'established' for her. I haven't seen anyone be so happy to drive 70 kms everyday in a treacherous terrain (which had 72 speed breakers or back breakers which ever way you looked at it) and still retain energy to go out for dinners and movies.
I will say with certainty that I started to like the way this company looked after their employees. It's one thing to care of the person, but it takes a certain amount of nobility and personal effort to reach out for that helpless employee who has nothing but passion to offer.It's in such decisions leaders get differentiated from managers.
Our world was complete, or so we thought. Less than a year into her new 'office', I got transferred again this time to a ship in Visakhapatnam. It was chaos time again. Again the company surprised us. That 'office' was closed and she shifted to Mumbai temporarily with half a mind to quit this life of uncertainties. Even if the company wanted to, the nearest workplace they could have accommodated her was in Hyderabad, and that meant we would be 'Weekend couples'. Already 5 years in to the marriage, the thought of staying apart wasn't an option we considered.
But if we thought our share of surprises were over, we were pleasantly proven wrong when her employer offered her to 'work from home' that too with full benefits. It was never about the money but by offering her full benefits it was a statement of sort to tell her, that look, we don't differentiate you based on where you work from but we shall judge you only based on your work ethics and results. That alone was enough for my little girl to grab that offer just like a kid would grab a box of her favourite chocolates.
In my line of job, I often come across ladies who have a good job but few have managed to have a career. It's not that they weren't capable, but probably they couldn't find someone who didn't look at them as mere resources. They didn't find a firm which felt their passion. Today my lady completes five years with her employer, but if at all someone who deserves high five more its you, M/s Capgemini. You have managed what I thought was quite impossible... to offer a career to the wife of a soldier on the move..
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