Thank God It’s Monday!

While companies worldwide have a happy hour on Friday to end the week on a good note, Jabong tries to reverse  this trend, making Monday the most happening day at work.

Monday is, unfortunately, the most hated day of the week for most employees, as it spells the return to the grind. This emotion is felt universally by all workers — even the ones who love their jobs. After all, Mondays are synonymous with traffic snarls, team hurdles, tighter deadlines, impounding pressure and of course, early morning blues.

Experts say, hating Mondays is more or less psychological and has been inculcated in us since our growing-up days. For school students too, Monday symbolises the return of rules and regulations after freedom. This continues even when they take up jobs later in life.

Probably the only set of people, who love Mondays are college-goers, for whom life is more fun compared to schools and offices. As the job-life starts, the same old pressure is back again.

Unfortunately, Monday happens to be the day for reports, projects and deadlines in most offices, making people truly despise the day.

Mondays, the Jabong way

Companies across the globe have a happy hour on Friday to ensure that the week ends on a great note. How about reversing this trend to make Monday the most happening day of the week at the workplace?

E-retail company, Jabong, has tried this route.

It has been following a practice of ‘Thank God it’s Monday!’ for its employees. Every alternate Monday, it hosts an event for its employees, be it a

karaoke afternoon, an online competition, a dart competition, snacks at the cafeteria or even participation in a CSR activity.

The whole objective is to start the week with a bang, the effect of which could linger on through the week. The company believes that such activities would give its employees more than one reason to come to office on Mondays.

“It also helps them experience Mondays as an extension of their weekend,” says Ashu Malhotra, head, HR at Jabong.

“Efficiency has a direct connotation to engagement. We’ve found our employees more focussed and more productive than otherwise,” adds Malhotra.

Though the company has not designated any particular time for these activities, ‘TGIM’ is usually held around 4 pm. It is generally a half an hour’s break from work.

Industry observers feel that such activities may not have a long-lasting effect, but are certainly a fun way to promote camaraderie and brighten employees’ outlook for the week.

The company states that TGIM is not directed towards any particular designation bracket or set of employees. It claims that often people from the senior management are also equally involved with their teams at these events.

The need for starting such a practice came from the types of businesses it deals in and the work environment Jabong has.

“In the e-commerce realm, the culture is very dynamic and we need to keep our employees motivated at all times,” adds Malhotra.

To keep its employees motivated and engaged, Jabong also practices job rotations and new projects for its associates.