How Can They Fire Her?

It is a common phenomenon in the corporate landscape to misinterpret the inability to respond to a query by a Manager as a serious lapse which at times leads to termination of his/her services. As a fallout, not only do they risk losing out a person with superior managerial skills, they also dampen the spirit of the juniors in her department, leading to sinking morale and reduced engagement.

- Vardhan Krishnanath Sahakari And Mrinmoy Majumder

It was a pleasant sunny day of winter, in the village of Siolim in Goa. The weather was clear after two days of clouded gloominess. While driving to the office, Vaishali was constantly trying to come up with a good excuse for coming late. "Ah! I can't lie" she muttered. Since the past two days, everyone was working overtime to reach the target. She was thus a bit worried and already exhausted after two hour drive to reach the Verna Industrial Estate. She rushed towards the building, logged in and ran towards the laboratory. She galloped some water on the way, while walking towards manager's desk. When she reached the shift manager's desk, she started explaining for being late, and asked for the day's target. Ajay (the manager) was not at all bothered about her legendary shaggy dog stories she had made up on the way to work. "Hmm" He nodded without even giving her a glance. "Should I continue with yesterday's work?" She asked. Again, he nodded.

Such behaviour was very unlike him. While returning towards her desk, she began thinking if she had done any mistake to upset Ajay. She took a deep breath and started setting up her table, while constantly thinking about Ajay's behaviour. "Hi!" Kavita greeted her breaking her chain of thoughts. Kavita was her colleague and best friend from across the table. Without even greeting her, she asked "what the hell is wrong with Ajay?", "Didn't you notice all our colleagues in this lab?" Kavita whispered. She glanced at everyone, trying to figure out what the matter was.