How's your WFH going?

Hi, I'm Devashish.

I sincerely hope you're doing absolutely great.

First of all, I want to thank you for supporting me in this initiative. I've received some amazing responses and reach with this campaign, and your support has made this possible.

My sole purpose was and will be to add as much value as I possibly can with these articles.

With this, let me start this session by talking a bit about Mr. Ajeet Singh, our guest for today's session.

He is the General Manager for one of the biggest and most profitable PSU organization of our country, an engineer with nearly 3 decades of professional expertise, and an agriculturist by passion.

He has left no stones unturned to pursue his passion, and he has taken significant steps to help others in his community in the best way possible. He's making his contribution as an essential service provider and is trying his best to keep the economic cycle of this country running in these testing times.

All this rightfully deserves appreciation, and although he's not on this platform, I've taken the onus to bring his views out for everyone to read.

And, not all heroes are on Linkedin!

C'mon then, let's give him the stage he truly deserves.

Do you think Work From Home(WFH) is our best option right now? Can it be the new normal?

It depends on the perspective we look at it. From my personal opinion and thinking, I don’t think, a WFH regime is working for everyone and anyone. It has certainly worked well for industries and sectors that are not in the production and agriculture space, but this is just one side of the story.

The other side of the story is the fact that our GDP is heavily dependent on the production and agriculture sectors, and these 2 have been brutally affected by this pandemic. People working in these sectors have felt the biggest blow of this lockdown, and they account for a large portion of our population.

Now, I’m definitely not against, but the reality is that not everyone can work from home, and thus, I don’t think it can be the new normal for the whole population.

What does your schedule look like these days?

My schedule hasn’t changed that much due to the lockdown, and since I belong to the essential service provider community, it’s pretty much still the same.

Yes, the timings are slashed and all of us are working with reduced manpower so as to maintain the norm of social distancing, but other than that my daily schedule is still intact.

Have you observed some changes in and around you due to this whole situation?

Yes, of course. The changes have been pretty visible to all of us. There’s a whole paradigm shift in everyone’s thinking.

People have started being more appreciative and are more generous in their approach. They have started to enjoy the very small subtlety of lives, be it cooking, washing utensils, or any other activities.

They now understand the importance of family, friends, and happy society. From our doctors to our vegetable vendors, nobody is willing to give up the fight against this pandemic, and they are all doing their bit each and every day to make this possible.

To be really honest, this is the first time where I’m witnessing such great unity among the masses to achieve a single goal, and this is a huge change, that I’ve observed in this period.

Talking about doctors, how big of a role are they and all the healthcare workers playing?

Huge. The impact that they are making worldwide is just huge. They are the soldiers who’re fighting our war against this enemy. They have selflessly agreed to risk their lives, to save the lives of many.

I was exuberant and elated when our government came out with new and stricter laws against the violence and abuse with doctors and healthcare workers, and it was definitely the need of the hour.

I’m absolutely humbled by their service, and I just can’t thank them enough for the godlike work they’re doing for all of us, and all of us should feel the same. A little respect for these real heroes won’t do any harm.

How bad do you think the country’s economy impacted by COVID-19?

It’s really bad. The situation is really bad. Production has stalled, businesses are shutting down, people are getting laid-off and there’s mayhem in the streets.

The biggest loss, however, is coming from the agriculture sector, as there was absolutely no preparation for anything like this, and nobody in their wildest dreams imagined, that it could go this worse.

The worst part, people are now afraid to go back to normal even after this lockdown is over because of the obvious reason of COVID-19, and this would have an even greater effect on the economy as a whole.

Now, India still being an agriculture driven economy, the overall impact would be on everyone. I know, that initiatives and relief measures have been taken by the government, but it’s still hasn’t worked out effectively at the ground level. So, there’s still a long way to go before we come out of this economic crisis.

Is there still a glimmer of hope for a faster economic revival by any means?

Ok, from the way I see it and if I talk about the measures we have implemented, production is lowered down, but it hasn’t stopped completely. We’re still producing at around 50% of our normal capacity, and we’ll soon resume the normal production as well.

We have our order books filled in accordance with it.

So, measures for a faster recovery have been put up, and I’m sure that this must be the case everywhere. Now, if the government can figure out a way to stop the chaos in other sectors like the private and agriculture sector, then a revival is definitely possible.

For that, some stringent policies and actions need to be taken and implemented effectively on the ground level.

What about students and new graduates? How can they prepare themselves for life after pandemic?

I’ve always been a firm believer of hard-work coupled with consistency, and if you can add loads of optimism along with it, I think you’re perfectly ready to steer this storm.

I definitely think that the world would be a different place altogether after all this is over, but the requirement of talent would always be there, and a student, or a new graduate or a job seeker for that matter, would absolutely be benefited by that.

Businesses need help at this point, they might not have money to give, but they can certainly provide you with the necessary real-life experience. So, this is the time to give your best shot. So, don’t get de-motivated with your cancelled offers and layoffs.

This is the time to enhance your skill-sets and keep adding value to society in any way possible. You’ll be surprised with the rewards, that you’ll reap.

How important is emotional attachment, especially now?

I just can’t stress enough on its importance. Being emotionally attached is what’s helping all of us in these testing times. Everyone’s mental peace has taken a hit, and being emotionally connected with our family, friends, and society has become more important than ever.

The only good thing, this lockdown has done is, that it has got families closer. People are spending quality time with their families, and they’re creating lasting memories.

I just hope this norm doesn’t change after all this is over.

A message that you want to give to our readers?

After being in the professional space for almost 3 decades now, the only thing constant has been “Change.”

We weren’t the same back then, and we won’t be the same after all this. Nothing is wrong about that.

The only thing we can do is to strive hard with our efforts and keep evolving. Always be willing to try something new, and give your best at it. 

This ain’t the time to stop and be worried, this is actually the time to embrace the change and make our mark.

And, if we can do that consistently, the sky is the limit!