6 pm. It is a busy weekday.
A bunch of young professionals at SOTC, the travel agency, are busy hitting and tossing the ball at the table tennis corner of their office in Mumbai.
Half an hour later, they are ready to face a new deadline for the next day or wrap up for the day.
Their guiding principle is simple: A little leisure at work never hurts.
In fact, these little detours during stressful hours or work-related tension can do wonders for your spirits and your productivity.
Most people have their own ways to unwind. Some simple, some funny and some simply weird.
They do no harm but add to a healthy and holistic 'you' at work.
Here are some of those ways to unwind:
Walk the talk
A quick stroll, a brief jogging spell in or around the office is a common enough habit to beat the burden.
Says Divya Kapoor, manager, Group Strategy, Piramal Enterprises Limited, "I take a quick walk with my colleagues whenever I have a few minutes to spare. We chat a bit, grab a bite or simply take a quick round. You feel much better after that."
"We have two work schedules: pre-6 and post-6 o'clock," says Himanshu Pandya, manager, Distribution, Prudential ICICI AMC.
The pre-6 o'clock schedule means small chit-chats at work from one desk to another, short to longish coffee breaks sprinkled with more updates and office gossip.
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What do you do to de-stress at work? Let us know!
Hit the gym
Sounds unreal? Not at all.
"After 6 pm, at least half a dozen of us, including me, land up at the office gym and hit the treadmill," adds Himanshu. "We even have treadmill competitions as to who can stay on the longest."
Others like Manisha Kartik (not her real name), an investment banker, is all for a quick exercise routine complete with stretching and bending. "Sitting for hours at a stretch in an office like ours can give you cramps and stiff joints. So it helps to take off your shoes, put your feet up for a while or stretch around a bit."
Tricks and pranks
Adds Ameeta Sequeira, PR executive, SOTC, "Pranks and practical jokes are fine as long as you are not the constant victim."
She should know. One of her colleagues has his own formula of de-stressing: he changes her phone security code, the password of her PC and so on.
After she is suitably agitated and he has had enough fun, things get back to normal, accompanied by a few laughs and digs, of course.
"Not everyone takes too kindly to this colleague of mine as their sense of humour or definition of unwinding might be different," she warns.
But all's fine as long as it does not seriously affect work and victims vary at regular intervals.
Break free
'Sutta' or cigarette breaks, tea breaks, tiffin or canteen breaks are common ways to break the monotony of corporate deadlines.
Says Manish Salian of Career Launcher Institute, "It's a groupie thing and we feel fresh after these intervals."
Guys love their smoke and chai and the ladies their nibbles from sandwiches and idlis.
The tea does wonders to the snappy nerves and the food provides enough fodder for casual chat and office gossip. And all return happy and rejuvenated.
E-mail mantras
Net surfing is officially incorrect and is professionally viewer unfriendly.
But quite a few confess sheepishly on conditions of anonymity that it helps.
"Not for long of course! A rundown of e-mails, a quick read of an interesting article that you notice earlier on the homepage or just running a search for something you had planned to find out more about," says Divya.
For Himanshu and his friends, it is personal stock taking time as they check out the price quotes of personal scrips.
Get social
Get acquainted while at work and get social after work. This works well for both Divya and Manisha.
"I might go to a movie or a play after work and going out with your colleagues after work can be fun if you know them well enough," says Divya.
Manisha too likes catching up on her hobbies and shopping only after work so one "packs in as much as one can during the day and leave early to unwind."
Small somethings
Little things matter. A small potted plant on your office desk, a laughing Buddha statue atop your PC or a sweet card or a note saying how wonderful you are, can always bring a smile back on your face and loosen things up a bit.
So don't hesitate to take a pat or prank with a smile or say, 'Cheer up,' to the one sitting next to you.
They may make those eight hours seem swift and light!
What do you do to de-stress at work? Let us know!
Image: Uday Kuckian
