Running with Purpose

As I laced up my shoes and participated ?in the Chennai Freshworks Marathon, I was reminded of how important it is to pursue a purpose.

Having a purpose helps us stay motivated and drives us to achieve our goals (both short term and long term). A purpose can help you feel like you're contributing to the world and making a positive difference.

For me, participating in this marathon wasn’t just about fitness or endurance. It was about making a statement and standing for something I have always deeply believed in — dignity, fairness, and respect – in our personal as well as professional lives.

Running a marathon takes preparation, focus, and resilience — qualities we also need in order to build healthier, more inclusive work environments. Workplaces should be spaces where people feel safe, supported, and empowered to grow and thrive.

Unfortunately, subtle behaviours like exclusion, taunting comments, undermining, or indirect criticism can sometimes create unhealthy work dynamics, affecting both morale and performance. These experiences are not always easy to talk about but addressing them is essential to fostering a culture of trust and accountability and many end up enduring this in silence.

Participating in this marathon gave me the opportunity to reflect on the importance of using our voices to speak up and advocate for positive change—not just in our personal journeys but also in the workplace.

Creating safe and respectful environments and workplaces isn’t the responsibility of one person alone: it’s a shared effort - be it family, a community or an organisation. Whether you’re leading a team or contributing as a colleague, each of us can play a role in ensuring fairness and inclusion are the norms, not the exceptions.

This marathon is a reminder that meaningful change takes effort and consistency. Much like training for a race, it requires commitment, conversations, and collaboration.

Whether it’s calling out unfair practices, advocating for policies, or simply offering a listening ear to someone in need, we all have a role to play in making our workplaces better.

What’s your purpose? I’d love to hear how you are contributing to building healthier workplaces and communities.