From the other side

I am beginning to feel I'm overworking. No, I don't seem to have caught the boss' ire yet. It's just that I happen to sit at this place at my work place from where I can see a range of human emotions everyday. Right across where my chair is placed, there is this small glass cubicle. I despise the sight of that cubicle. I don't know if it's a hate that was there when I myself sat there once or has it developed after getting a seat in the office right across it. But it has certainly not been a pleasant experience sitting right across it. So, maybe, the latter.

That little cubicle happens to be the place where those coming for an interview are made to sit, wait, anticipate and what not. I see them everyday. I see them in their vulnerable state which they so try to hide but fail. I see them dreaming of becoming a part of the workplace when their part excited part nervous eyes try to scan through the room and wonder who's who of the room and what salutation would be needed to address them. I see them put on their most artificial of smiles and confidence the moment someone appears in front of them and I see it vanish at the first trace of a hiccup or fumble in the process of that all important conversation. I have seen people sipping on water so cautiously as if the fate of their future lives depend on that. I see how uncovered they feel in the fanciest of formals when they can't live up to that piece of paper about them that they are forced to believe holds the key to their future. I have seen people leave with the most disappointing of faces while their heart still hopes something will miraculously work out. I have seen people leave with a sparkle of hope in their eyes and have heard words from the person they talked to moments later that could turn that hope to despair, that sparkle to dust.

One day, I sat there too and after going through the ritual gamut of emotions made my way back to the workplace. Not everyone has my luck though. Not everyone ends the day tired, very tired experiencing so many human emotions.

Image credits -Rainer Andreesen