Meet Colt Technology Services Lead Consultant Manjori Ahmed

Colt Technology Services understands that people are more than their jobs. The leading digital infrastructure company creates a culture where employees can thrive in all aspects of their lives, both personal and professional.

Meet Colt Lead Consultant in Service Operations, Manjori Ahmed, who is based in Bangalore in India. This people-focused workplace culture enables Manjori to strike a healthy work/life balance where she can prioritize her family and her painting.

Understanding work/life balance

Manjori says one of the best things about Colt is the work-life balance but this hasn’t always been her experience in her career.

"I have a distinct memory back when working with a previous employer. It was the end of a long day and I was exhausted after staying up until 4am the previous night to deliver some data analytics to USA stakeholders. My parents were unwell and my daughter was just seven years old. I asked myself, ‘what am I doing?’ I typed out my resignation letter and submitted it right there and then," says Manjori.

"At the beginning of my break from work, I slept like a log, but then I started to want to do something different, something more. As a child, I was creative, but I never got an opportunity to pursue and refine that talent because I was always told I should only focus on my studies. I therefore decided to enrol on a six-month course which focused on pencil on paper and acrylic on canvas at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath – the academy of fine arts in Bangalore. Just one month later I had my first exhibition. I then studied another six-month course which was on watercolour and oil painting because I enjoyed the first so much," continues Manjori.

Prioritizing her life and family

This experience taught Manjori a lot of things.

"I learnt that there is no age limit for learning and that, even though it requires a lot of patience, painting makes a person calm. The time away from work also helped me to prioritise my life better and see the bigger picture. I was able to take care of the urgent and important things like ailing parents and my very young daughter, and I was able to start thinking about my career in IT again. When we’re in a job, sometimes we forget to stop and look back in retrospect so we can move forwards again," explains Manjori.

Pursuing her creative passions

Now that Manjori works at Colt Technology Services, she is able to continue that work-life balance.

"No one expects me to be constantly online out of office hours. When I finish for the day, I wrap up my household work and then spend at least 30 minutes with my brushes, canvas, and paper. Being at Colt has given me the opportunity to be content with my job and has still given me the time to keep my passion alive," adds Manjori.