People in the IT industry often comes across this phrase called "bench". Now what is this bench?Is it really a a wooden board on which employees are made to sit?? Many may have this notion - but the reality is that these are normal employees who are without any project and hence have to pass the time waiting for a new project.
Well , you may wonder after reading the first para that I am repeating something which is known by most of the people - considering the fact that most graduates join the IT industry irrespective of their background and if they are in some other industry then they are bound to have some kin in the IT industry and hence this term "bench" becomes universally known. However, this post of mine is not to explain the known but actually to make you know what goes on in the mind of the people who are on the bench.
When you join the IT industry ,generally, you are put on the bench for a short period(which can become long for some) before you are put into some kind of a project. So, most people go through this phase. Now, this phase is the mast period "on bench" as right after engineering college(where most of us don't do anything) we get a phase in our office life where we can be our old self once again i.e do nothing - come to the office,take a cup of coffee(which is free), check mails,chat with friends(on gtalk or yahoo messenger), do orkut(if it is not blocked) and then go out for tea in the evening with friends(who are also on bench) and then ,maybe, try your hand at TT or badminton(provided these facilities are there in your office) and atlast after such a tiresome day leave for home exactly at 5.30 to catch a few movies or play some games. Sounds mast no? This is the reason people tell that if you are on bench then it's mast.
But consider this - what if you are required to repeat this schedule for months? Frightening isn't it?? How many mails can you check or forward or how much chatting, orkutting can you do? It becomes boring and your life becomes miserable. If you are on bench for long ( where you do nothing) you are bound to forget whatever little you may have gained from college. Thus, when you will be put into a project you won't be able to perform to your potential and then the tough period starts- a desire to perform but the lack of essential knowledge and then your superiors begin to think that you are worthless and you become wretched. Thus, bench period seems to be a curse.
The above para refers to those kind of people who are really serious about their work and want to excel in the technical field. For them a prolonged "bench" period is a curse. However , in the IT industry there is another category of people - people call this category smarter, worthless, liability to the company, undecided, "bhagnewaalas"(as they try to flee from their company) etc. With whatever name they may be called , the reality is that for this people "bench" period is a boon. A large chunk of this population try for CAT and other management exams. Many also try for GRE /UPSC etc. and yet another chunk try to change their company and go to a better one. Thus ,these are those who want to study further or have big ambitions( zeal to do more in a shorter period ).For these people the bench period is the ideal time for whatever preparations that they want to do. Hence the "mast bench period " is suitable for this population.
But whatever it is - a prolonged bench period is a very bad phase that anyone has to endure. For those people whose project ends(these people may be having > 4 years of experience in project) are also forced to come on bench. It is a welcome break for them. However , a prolonged period(something greater than 3 weeks) will hurt these people also because nobody wants to sit idle without any purpose. Imagine coming to a office where you don't know what is expected of you and you don't have any purpose or a objective there - frightening isn't it?? More frightening is the case where your annual performance analysis time approaches and you stll remain on bench, thus making your future in the present company uncertain. You become desperate for a project as you cannot afford to loose your job. You start approaching the managers of the various projects but you do not get an oppurtunity. Your frustation level rises. You see your batchmates, friends and colleagues happily employed in a project and you are made to sit idle the whole day. You loose yor peace of mind.
Thus whatever way you look at , bench period , though it may seem to be "mast" initially , it is full of frustation and loneliness. So the next time you tell someone "On the Bench?Mast hai yaar!" - think again!
P.S. This is posted by someone who had been in bench.
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