Long working hours and crammed work schedules are a reality for most techies. A reason why some companies have introduced stress-buster activities such as fine arts clubs and cultural activities, in addition to wellness programmes.
Many firms in Technopark encourage employees to nurture their innate talent in music, dance and fine arts. For instance, Infosys has begun violin (Western) classes for their employees. “We have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5.30 to 8 p.m., for three separate batches. Currently, around 30 people are attending the classes,” says an employee with the company who is attending the class. He adds: “Only two in the group had any kind of prior training, that too in Carnatic style. The rest are freshers and joined the classes because of their interest in music. These classes are a welcome relief from our busy work schedules.”
Their instructor Paul Jose says he has an enthusiastic group of students. “It is true that many of them find it difficult to practise. Still, they all have an inclination to learn,” he says. The company plans to start guitar classes soon.
Infosys has around 22 active clubs, which include those dedicated to dance, music and theatre.
Allianz Cornhill conducts guitar classes now, attended by 20 employees. Two of the stuents of music are Sujamol Rajan and Thomas Joy who are passionate about music. Thomas says: "It is great to balance life's passion with work."
Brimming with activities
UST Global has an active dance club and music-related activities. The dance club, going strong for the last five years, has 30-50 members at any point of time. “We have a trainer (Arun Nandakumar) coming in every week. Even if some employees drop out owing to transfers, we always get new members,” says Sthanu Thambi, accounts manager, who has been involved in the activities of the club. In fact, Bailemos, the annual dance fete, is an integral part of the company's annual calendar. “We also have training classes for the keyboard and the guitar. Some 10 to 15 people have joined the classes, which are after office hours,” he says.
Dance has a lot of takers among the techies, That is what motivated Natana, a cultural club of Technopark, to start dance classes for the employees. It has joined hands with city-based professional dance school Xtreamers to offer training in hip-hop, salsa and Western freestyle.
“As of now 15 to 17 people have registered, all of whom are members of Natana's dance troupe. Those who are not members of Natana can also join. Many are waiting for Tech-a-Break to get over since they all have been busy with rehearsals for their respective companies. We plan to have 25 people at a time,” says Divas Sadasivan, an office-bearer of Natana. They plan to have dance classes three days a week; participants can opt for a timeslot in the afternoon or after office hours.
