My Weekend Is Mine

I have been asking myself what's the purpose of a weekend. It is said that in an office, the bosses report to work on Monday morning very strong and lively and with the energy to push everyone around. Of course i am talking of an ideal African office where thou must turn 45 to be called the boss.This is because most people at this age view the weekend as a time to relax and rest to prepare for another week. The young employees are the exact opposite of their bosses. As for them, the weekend is the ideal time to meet friends, drive far and wide, go partying, explore every dimension of the other side of life. These they will do until there is no more time and they are sad that the weekend is ever too short. So waking up on Monday to them is like an act of God, its a disaster, it is uncalled for.

That is why the office line is ever busy on Monday morning; because staff are calling to say why they will be late for work that morning. And you will hear very well crafted stories which you cannot help believe unless you are so inhuman. Of course most of them are more of fiction than reality.Stories like," I'm sorry boss. we have hardly slept last night because our child had a bad fever. In fact as i speak we are in hospital and we are so afraid he looks so sick. And the queue is just too long." In other words, the boss should not expect that employee before midday. Or you will hear something like, "Boss, we traveled upcountry over the weekend to bury a relative and on our way back to town, our vehicle broke down and we actually spent the Sunday night in the cold. Its now that we are finding our way to town." In short Monday morning is the time for narratives and if you love stories, then just wait for Monday morning.

So the youth have perfected the art of 'killing relatives',' hospitalizing their children', 'breaking down their cars'. The most hilarious one was one of a colleague who came at midday on a Monday morning and when we were all listening he said, "I tell you homes have issues. I have not slept last night because my neighbors fought the whole night." And he seemed so excited narrating the story, the insults, the kicks, the frying pans that had been converted to flying pans. It was a sweet story to hear and all we could do is advice him to consider moving now that he doesn't know how often they will fight therefore how many days he might not report to work.

Well, as for me i believe the weekend doesn't necessarily mean rest,as in literally. Its a break. That's why i do not want to replicate my weekly routine to weekend. And whenever i am tempted, i remind myself of a story i once read of a rich businessman who received sad news on a Friday evening when he was playing golf. He was told that one of his stalls had burned to the ground and all he said was, " wow! What a surprise i will get when i report to work on Monday morning." That is why when i saw the call from my boss on Friday at 7:30 p.m., i asked myself,"why now? But i was in the office up to 5:00 p.m., ready and willing to listen. But as luck would have it, my phone mouthpiece had gone bananas. That means i had a true story for Monday morning. And when my wife asked me to pick the call i said,"well not now. At least my phone is bad. And even if it was good, i wouldn't want my half hour for my family to go to the same reason that kept me away for eight hours." That is why sometimes i can be a bad boy for good reasons.

Let's get back to the boss. The Boss easily forgets that he was young a few years ago and now that he has settled in many aspects of life, he treats subordinates as though they too are like him/her. Unfortunately, he is dealing with youths who have been running up and down the whole weekend, left so many issues unfinished and needs the entire Monday and part of Tuesday to bring back the body in good working condition and to follow up on several issues. Actually the young employee,begins feeling the week on Wednesday and that's the time they feel energized. At that time the boss is already getting weary after a few quarrels with the young junior staff who he had to push around the entire Monday and Tuesday. Now the boss wants the weekend to come. The young employee is however already placing such a load of work on his desk that gives him headache.Things are now getting interesting. The boss is already weary and longing for the weekend so he can rest. The young staff is so energized and longing for the weekend to do what they do best.

I have no problem how we spend our weekend. My problem is when someone wants to set my weekend agenda because they will not like it. Sometimes the boss has some energy to spare and by the fact that he/she has already settled in life, they think they can spare some time to do office work and they want the young guy to be there to utilize their skills. That's where the actual trouble begins. So these young guys
will refuse to pick the phone from the boss over the weekend. And that according to the boss is being rude and insensitive and will be part of the lecture you receive on Monday morning. That's the time you will be told how you should own the organization and be there for any organization need. And of course you will not say No. But in the heart of the young member of staff will be the following words, " This guy has been there long enough to take care of himself. Now he is done and he wants me to join him to take care of the organization. I say no! It is my time to take care of myself". And when the boss gets so nagging, the young fellow will say, "Well. You are being paid for what you are doing. Pay me and i will join you."

All i am saying is, we all value our weekend. We all long for the weekend. But it is for different reasons and i don't think we need a forum to agree how we live our weekends. And we must ensure that this does not become a matter to quarrel about on Monday morning. Let's set each other free. Please boss, let me be myself during the weekend and i promise you i will stop having stories to narrate on Monday morning.