'Undo' Death, 'Redo' Life!!!

Microsoft Office gave man a unique option, amidst other array of choices, the ‘undo’ command. With this command we may undo any previous text or formatting and if ‘undo’ has to undone then there is a ‘redo’ command as well that restores the earlier text or formatting.


Many times I have wished that if we could have the same buttons in our life as well…’undo’ the mistakes that I made, and ‘redo’ the same if the latter was a mistake in the first place. I don’t know how the world would turn-out to be if such buttons actually existed…may be a better place or may be even more chaotic. But the matter of fact remains that we are not lucky to have such buttons.

One reality that stares at everyone’s face at some point of time is death, although we do not like to think about it, especially when it comes to our loved ones. God forbid if it happens to one who is close to us, this is perhaps one thing we wish we could ‘undo’… and ‘redo’ or restore life & vitality in them.

Death strikes hard when it occurs at a young age and even worse if it hits the earning member of a family. The entire family, especially the kids, face a crisis that affects their whole life. I am sure the young kids and family of the GM(HR) killed in the Maruti Suzuki’s Mansesar plant’s madness would wish so much if they could ‘undo’ his death. Most companies have some form of one time compensation that they pay to the next of kin of the deceased employee. However there is one company which has taken such support extended to the family of the deceased employee to an altogether next level.

Google anticipates major life events of employees as soon as they join the company. Death is an eventuality, but Google not only very realistically anticipates the same for its employees but also secures their families in the event of such an eventuality, in a way that they would never monetarily miss their mom or dad who was once a member of the Google team. According to the report, under the perks scheme, along with 50 per cent of their partner's salary for a decade, surviving spouses will also have access to their partner's shares in the company. It also claimed that ‘benefits’ extend to all employees and do not require any tenure or accruement, and if a couple has children, they will receive 1000 dollars a month until the age of 19, or 23 if the child is a full-time student.

I do not know how Goggle employees would be reacting to this benefit but the move is tremendous, undoubtedly!!! We, in our lifetime earn to not only make our present better, but also consciously & at times sub-consciously try to secure the future of our families. A company that promises to look after your family & kids till they can self-sustain themselves in this material world could be the ultimate reassurance that an employee may ever want.

And we are not even taking of the innumerable benefits that Google’s offers to its employees in their life, but it seems to Google & its employees ‘even death cannot do them apart’. Perhaps the ‘undo’ command is a little less missed by the Google employees!