Corporates promoting booze culture to motivate employees

Nine to five government jobs, yearly bonuses and promotions and a quiet life unknown to anybody other than family and friends – these are the days long gone. Now is the age of outsourcing, technology and social networking that is slowly getting transformed into a massive uncontrollable business worldwide. The corporate giants have replaced the quiet manufacturing industry and the multi-national players have taken over the bigger arena, contributing to the chunk of economy and employment in the Country.

Foreign clients who outsource the jobs and business within a corporate set up ideally seek an equal return to what has been put in in terms of the output; most of these giants are booming with profits every year. They are in that comfort zone to ‘splurge’ on their employees – and how?

Team outings, drinks on the house, a Bollywood celebrity who attends the ‘town hall’ organized for a large volume of employee turnout. The team parties would be every other quarter whilst the town hall, every year; sometimes even every six months with some soaring businesses like Google and Facebook. The Google employees are called the ‘blessed’ ones. The lesser mortals feel deprived of the lavish overseas trips planned by these giants for their staff, taking vacations to exotic places every now and then.

In the changing times where social media is making billions and indulging its employees quite frivolously as compared to other sectors in the economy, the employees reaction to the trendy ‘booze’ culture that is fast picking up as a norm has been researched upon. Most of these employees who hail from the working middle class families of India find it atrocious, vain and uncalled for. There are others who have started to make this culture a part of their lifestyle; late night weekend team parties, unlimited booze flowing in to celebrate the success in meeting the service level agreements; how far have we come to understand what really benefits the individual well-being of the manpower that flaunts the identification badge with these companies.

The views and opinions expressed by some of the employees working in these big firms are mixed with an element of logic coupled with reasoning. While staff bonuses are taking a back seat in the midst of budgets being allotted for the expensive events, vacations and getaways, many feel the need for a balance in the system prevailing.

“The booze culture is not really necessary in the name of employee motivation. There are many others ways to celebrate such as bonuses, rewards, appreciation etc., We are only making this ‘Gora’ practice a part of our system, thanks to these foreign players” says Prashant, who works for a retail giant. “There should be strict audit and compliance practices with the companies to sort this out” he adds.

While the concept of ‘the last man standing’ is rampant in the corporate parties, the extent to which this can be permitted is clearly laid out in some companies.

“On a serious note, booze during office hours and inside hours is not allowed in most organizations. In fact, in India, there are legal restrictions to it. You will need an excuse permit to do so. For outside office parties, many organizations serve liquor because employees demand it from them. However, there are limits imposed by the company’s internal policy as to how much can be allowed” says a HR Manager at a leading Consulting firm.

While the IT and BPO sectors continue to fare in the safe zone, social media players have taken the success meter to a whole new level. Companies like Google and Facebook saw Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan come be a part of their events for an exorbitant price last few years. All this is done for the amusement of their employees. That is not all; their employees are the lucky ones who keep receiving smartphones and I Pad s as part of their yearly rewards. These are some of the prime reasons that contribute to low attrition rates in these companies, given the luxuries and comforts that come with the jobs.

The employees of IT companies take a different view to this waging madness in the name of advancement – most of them would prefer some real cash component as part of their annual appraisals than the mindless mega events that are showered in the name of employee engagement.

The increasing booze culture among the small and mid-players looking at the big ones is a standing testimonial that the new era booze culture is not only infectious, but has become one of the significant ways to ‘keep’ the talent. Only time would tell us of the possible ‘overkill’ that is bound to happen, if not controlled.