The drudgery of everyday work is the price we pay to make the remaining 16 hours of our day bearable. But not everyone wakes up on Monday morning dreading the hours ahead. Some jobs stand out because they are fun, despite having bosses to deal with and many hours to clock in.
Last year, we received tremendous feedback to
our first cool jobs special issue. You loved reading about the guy who buys books, the lady who reviews spas and the man who makes toys—all for a living.
So, this year, we hunted down a few more of this rare breed and investigated what made their jobs cool. Find out how they got there, why they do what they do and why we think their jobs are awesome. We also asked them to tell us about the rough that goes with the cool.
The party planner
Chief fun officer
Infosys BPO Ltd
Backstory: After a postgraduate course in human resources, Sreejith, 27, worked as a recruitment executive in Hinduja TMT Ltd for two years, and then moved to business human resource in the same company. Then came the offer to be “fun officer”. How could he not have jumped at a job that had the word “fun” in the designation? Sreejith now spends time making sure his employees stay cheerful, hale and hearty.
Why we think it’s cool: Well, the job involves hours of strategy on how to have fun. Now, come on, it doesn’t get better than this. His job is to create quizzes, puzzles and games, and plan celebrations and parties. In effect, he is into the serious business of fun.
Why he thinks it’s cool: With a designation like chief fun officer, it is hard for Sreejith to stop smiling but he says that is just the way he is. “I am a naturally relaxed person, and don’t get easily stressed. I spend my working day planning how to de-stress more than 8,000 employees at Infosys BPO. The perk is that I am responsible for putting excitement and joy on faces that look tired and strained after a week of work, and that too at odd hours. And, of course, I love the fact that I can let my imagination go wild.”
The flip side: The job can be quite stressful when big annual events are being planned. That’s when a chilled out Sreejith begins to bite his fingernails.
If he wasn’t doing this, then: Sreejith would be training new recruits in various skills for their jobs.
(Pavitra Jayaraman)
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The cricket tourist
Anchor for ‘Extra Cover’
NEO Sports