The tale of the “office boys”

I have never gotten used to the idea of drinking coffee and leaving the cup lying around all over the office – at desks, on counter tops in the hallway, in conference rooms, etc. But that’s what exactly happens here. Why? Because the “office boys” are expect to pick up after you.

We have nearly half a dozen office boys (or maybe more) in my office. Their chores range from washing dishes by hand (plates, cups, cutlery that gets used during the work day), wiping them dry and stacking them off neatly, maintaining the coffee machine, scrubbing the floors of the dining and kitchen areas, setting up lunch when it arrives, serving snacks in the evening, doing some handy man work around the office, etc.

It took me a while to get warmed up to this concept, but it seems like the order of the day. I guess it is creating jobs and a means of providing for these kids. I haven’t gotten into guessing their ages yet. Maybe they fall in the 16-20 range. And I won’t even get into guess how much they are paid and if it really provides a livelihood for them, etc. It is very disheartening to see them running around doing these chores.

So, a couple of days ago, I had a business visitor in the office and I was in the lobby going about my work. One of the boys walked up to me, the office phone book in his hand and he held it in front of my face. I looked him in the eye and asked what he wanted of me. Turns out, he was trying to reach someone inside the office and he couldn’t look up the number next to the name himself. That is when it struck me, like a hard blow that he could neither read nor write. All chocked up, I read out the extension for him. He smiled shyly, snatched the book from my hands and off he ran. I noticed he dialed the number correctly, so I guess he knows the numbers.

I have been seriously considering launching a program, say for a few hours a week when we can rope these guys in and teach them to read and write. At least, get them started on it. I am yet to talk that out with HR and some colleagues. We’ll see how that goes.