Unfamiliar

When I used to work with corporate I was a trainer. Whenever any new people would join the team I would be responsible to train them before they hit the production. Most new joiners would be extremely friendly and close to me because of my regular interactions with them. But one person stood out. Her name was Rutuja.

Rutuja had joined our team in May 2024. After joining the team the onboarding formalities were going on. As per my regular interactions I would carry on 1 to 1 interactions with the new joiner during their time the onboarding formalities were underway. I spoke with Rutuja the very first time. I learnt about her tragic life. She wanted to become an artist but her family forced her to study pharmacy. She was in relationship with a guy to home she had given thousands of rupees and finally he betrayed her. She went into the depression after their break up. Har mother had severe physical illnesses which required her presence. When Rutuja told me about her past and present I felt really sad for her. I saw a young girl carrying the responsibility of her family along with keeping her sadness buried in her heart. However what I did not know was that she was actually making the background for her actions in the future.

As the training phase started I noticed that Rutuja would often turn up late for the trainings. After 3 instances I confronted her. She told me that her mother had not been well and she needed to take care of her. I asked more about her family to learn that she had an elder sister and her father both of whom had independent businesses and they would run their respective businesses from home. I asked her if her father and sister could take care of her mother and she was completely speechless. I informed her that though I empathized with her situations, there are rules to be followed in the office for which she could not get concessions. Rutuja understood and I saw that for next couple of trainings she was coming on time. But then again I saw lapses in her attendance. I knew her story but to safeguard her and my position I had to inform the management about this.

Once the training was over Rutuja went into the live environment. Here my responsibilities had been over and now she was completely under the operations. The complaints towards her attendance and lack of performance started coming up within a month. She had been attending the office only for 3 or 4 hours and had been completing half of the work that was assigned to her. Despite her situation it was not possible to continue with an underperformer. She was given feedback and was asked to improve.

The breaking point was a day when she informed that her mother had been hospitalized. That day I had a lot of work and I left the office 2 hours later than my usual time. When I left I saw Rutuja sitting in a cafe with a boy, she looked relaxed. When I saw her I was completely shocked that this was the same girl who had called me crying that her mother is critical is now enjoying her day off. It was a lie. This did not sit right with me. This made me questions her entire narrative. She had clearly broken my trust.

Next time when she reported to office I confronted her and told her not to expect any concessions from me. Shortly after Rutuja was asked to leave the company because of her under performance. That was the last time I saw and I am glad that I am no longer in touch with such a dishonest person.