Page 224 - A Banker Down the Rabbit Hole

63. Saving personal belongings from

theft

O ne day, I had a friend visiting from Hong Kong at a

metropolitan branch. He arrived a few minutes before I
reached the branch. First thing he saw me doing was that I
took out the landline phone instrument from my locked
drawer, untied the wire from telephone instrument and
plugged it in the wall socket. He was amused and surprised on
understanding the whole situation. I felt so much embarrassed that back
in India, I had to safe guard the phone instrument myself from theft in
my locked cabin.

I had to unplug the telephone instrument and lock it in my drawer every
evening before leaving as this was the standard practice here lest it was
stolen and replaced at the cost of cabin occupying manager. The branch
had a head count of 200 employees coupled with a not so pleasing work
culture at the branch in more than one ways. It was a big change from
working culture in Hong Kong and a branch in India both being the
metropolises of the world.
I did not tell my friend that I had already lost my umbrella brought from
Hong Kong and also a calculator left by mistake on my table while leaving
the office cabin on two different occasions. I had no time to conduct
enquiries in such matters considered as trivial compared to many more
important issues and problems to be managed in my department. I had
to do all this due to the new working environment I was put in.
Insights from the episode

1. Looking to the environment, I had to be vigilant about personal
belongings too.
2. It was a great divide between work practices and value system in
Hong Kong and back in India. While in Rome, do as the Romans do.
— z —

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