What happens in office, stays in office by Ankur Mithal

A no-holds-barred account of life in the cut-throat world of large corporations, told in a unique humorous and ironical style. A world where millions are employed and are forever engaged in finding a balance between doing right for the organization and doing right for themselves. The domineering boss, the whining employee, the counter-productive policy-making, the jockeying for visibility, are all products of this interesting world. Not all, however, is as it appears on the smooth and shiny surface of this world. There are personal anxieties and fears which get carried into business interactions.

Though informal outlets are available to people in corporations, mostly through the often innocuous art of bitching, many of these subterranean currents never get recognized or discussed openly. Perhaps for the first time ever, this book discusses situations where these subtle (to the doer) and shameless (to the doee) acts often create outcomes that are both poignant and funny and, at times, downright disgusting. In the garb of humour and satire, this book delivers some hard-hitting management lessons. In doing so, however, Ankur may have inadvertently let out some never before talked about secrets of success of The Club that the Corporate world appears to be from outside.

Readers of Ankurs blog (darkofficehumour.wordpress.com) have compared his writing to that of Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert, the cartoon strip) and Joseph Heller (author of Catch22), both masterpieces of satire. His Blog has also received recognition through the Versatile Blogger award several times in its brief history.–Description from Goodreads

Paperback, 196 pages

Published August 2012 by Leadstart

ISBN13

9789381836491

edition language

English

My Thoughts:

If you are working for a company where you are unhappy with your coworkers, your boss, your life–you really should read this book. The author uses satirical humour to convey the point that things don’t always go so well for the little guy in the company.

There are plenty of laughs to be had while reading this. There were so many things that I agreed with as I read along, that I read passages aloud to other people in the room, and soon everyone was laughing and nodding their heads. If you work for a large company, many of the things the author discusses will seem familiar.

Ankur Mithal has the inside experience and years of observation to make this book more than just entertaining. He writes from a place of having been there and done that and even the most frustrated employee will no doubt find something that appeals to them within these pages. Everything from why meetings are really called to how company funds are used is covered and explained from the author’s unique perspective.

Personally, my favourite part of the entire book was “The Ten Commandments of Supervisory Employment.” I can see a copy of this hanging in offices across the world.(Just make sure no one knows you were the one that put it there.)

If you have a friend or family member who always seems to be under appreciated at work and tends to mention their unhappiness, this might make a great gift and offer them a reason to smile.

Although there is some sarcasm involved here, the groundwork for this book is also very realistic. Mr. Mithal captures the essence of large corporations and their internal workings. He manages to make the reader laugh, while still telling undeniable truths.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever, or is considering working in the corporate world. Hilarious, intelligent and entertaining.