This weekend our office moved into a new space. For a long time we were at 30 Cooper Sq, but over the last year or so we have grown so fast that the space was not enough.
The new office space is huge and really nice. The best part is that we have a terrace about half the size of the actual office. And completely accessible.
However one comment that the missus made about the new office move had me thinking. When I told her that we were moving on the weekend, she asked if there was a pooja in the new space or not. And I said no. Because, there isn’t one. It’s funny how we are so tuned as a culture to pay our obeisance to God in every new endeavor. But in the US, this concept does not exist.
The reason for this could be two fold. On the one hand, no one thinks of this space as their own. It is office space and we have rented it out from the landlords. It does not belong to the office or the firm per se. Hence there is no real attachment as such. Hence; no significance of a religious ceremony.
The other and more plausible reason I can think of is the segregation of religion from all things in American life. Sex, Politics and Religion are three things that are never discussed in an office workspace here in America. People get judgmental about you if you express views on these topics. To perform a religious ceremony or even a small prayer would tantamount to hurting someone’s feelings and hence is something avoidable.
We are a multicultural office, with people from all parts of the world. It would have been a real nice event if everyone could have prayed a few lines from their prayers to bring about new beginnings.
I miss that.
