There is no point in knowing how to properly punch and kick or throw when you work for a company. In fact, reliance on the techniques alone is a sure way to get yourself in trouble. Soon or later you will get frustrated about whatever issue is at hand, loose your cool and punch someone, and being that that is overstepping the lines of the company code well, you know the rest - reprimand, humiliation, and finally termination of employment, which is like a death in life. So consequently using techniques in life may have similar repercussions. Perhaps something to consider when going back to your martial arts school or academy and taking out your frustrations.
Now with that in mind, do you have to know self-defense when working for a big company? I very much think so. Reason for that being that a big company in a competition driven environment is a battlefield of ambitions primarily, but also emotions, attitudes, manners or the lack of thereof resulting in a very complicated web that is functioning on the artificially implemented premise - gain. Yes indeed, it is a known fact that if a corporation does not expand, it will necessarily contract, as if nothings is static, and everything is in the state of constant movement, flux. Of course, to realize that on a profound level with your body is not the same as the theory-driven knowledge that usually takes advantage in the workplace.
Martial Way can teach you to connect theory and practice, and unify mind body and spirit, and I would also say gain control of your emotions. But how does it do that?
Well, first of all when you embark on the path of learning of any martial discipline, first you have to learn the very form of it. Learning of the form, (the dao lu in Chinese martial arts) is foundational, it is the very vocabulary of the art form. Principles are imbedded in the form, and are conveyed through the language of the movement. Some teach a perfectly straight back while others require a tilt. Some grasp the ground with the toes, others don't. Various palm positions, and so on. Does it remind you of anything? Well, it actually reminds me of sitting at the desk, because your body is, obviously there, and without knowing it you are creating habits that will make you move and act in a certain way - in other words, you are doing (or are) in a form. But the virtue of sitting with the straight back is an ever-present reminder that the practice never ends (please see my post "How to develop a good sitting posture?")
I think there is definitely something in donning a traditional garb and acting in the imitation of the ways of old, but going beyond that, an attitude of the warrior is that of endurance, and centeredness acquired through practice of the martial arts. It can help one to endure in the world of business, but the constant study is deeper than anyone can imagine as the martial way is also about the patterns in the Universe and Nature as well as the chaos - lack of order and the unrestrained nature of the Great Out There.
Corporation is only a model, albeit on a smaller scale of some structures that are reminiscent of life, but the goals are magnified - survival, promotion, gain, respectability, they are all present in the company. But the competition is present like nowhere else in life - only professional sports can come close in intensity. In other words, people are ready to exert themselves to the utmost of their capacities in order to achieve their goals, whether it be success in their carriers, or rising up the carrier ladder signified by promotions or bonuses or other signs of appreciation. Within that tense environment one feels as if under attack, because the attacks are not of physical but of psychic nature, therefore an increased mental stamina, centeredness and calm are of increased value. And I am not even talking about the preparedness of the spirit. It is hard to withstand the onslaughts of negativity within the corporate environment, but that is where the wisdom gained through the martial arts practice comes in handy.
As an example, instead of resisting the negativity a good aikido player will join in until there is a moment of throwing it off. Instead of responding to a bad rap with same, a good Tai Chi player will soften up and allow for the words to go through, like she is a sheet of silk cloth. A good jujutsu player will be very aware of timing of the attack and issue punishment before it escalates into something dangerous for his well-being, by perhaps talking to the person in question. And so on, and let's not forget what the founder of Aikido said, "The goal of martial training is peace". So let's remember that being good does not necessarily mean that you have an impeccable technique, although preferably it may involve that aspect. Being good to me is realizing that the "goal of martial training is peace", and its immovable center. So let us keep in mind the deep morale that the Martial Way teaches us - that we all share the same nature, and therefore we can do our best to add to the well-being of our environment as without fear and self-pity the Way of Peace outlined by the greats also becomes the Way of Growth and Nourishment and ultimately coincidentally that of wealth.
