Be happy................. at work????
Saw another article on being happy at work..... do this, do that, don't waste company's time/money, be thankful that you have a job, blah, blah, ad nauseum.
My question is, why? Ok, I am not supposed to surf the net (or write this blog) on company's time. Accepted. I am not getting paid to write this Insanity. But shouldn't there be a quid pro quo? I mean, what about all those times I stay behind after 5:30 p.m.? Even 5:30:01 is too late, isn't it?
There is an old story about the great Indian statesman, Chanakya, about how he, the Prime Minister of what was then the most powerful empire in the Indian Subcontinent, and most probably in entire Asia, was visited by a friend, one evening while he was doing some official work. The friend waited till the work was over, and once Chanakya was free, the first thing he did was to extinguish the lamp, and light another one. On being asked, he explained that the first lamp was his "official" one, which he obviously could not use while doing personal stuff, i.e. chatting with his friend.
This story is often told by management gurus, by motivational speakers, and even sundry CEO types, "See this guy was so honest, being a PM, he could certainly have used his official lamp for all purposes, but he did not......(blah, blah)."
My take on this is different. The PM of Magadha, or of any other country, past, present, or future, is not a poorly paid handyman. The PM could / can easily afford to use his personal lamp for official work, but he used an official lamp!
Moral of the story: official and personal are both important, mutually exclusive scenes. Do not use the official time to surf the internet, and do not stay in office later than 5:30:00 p.m.
The first point is very enforceable, and enforced, directly and indirectly, by all organisations. Firewalls, so-called codes of conduct, all are geared to this one objective. But what about the second? Exactly the opposite - laptops, cellphones, appraisals, all tools to ensure the employee cannot enjoy a weekend with family/friends, or go home in time.
Find me a CEO who punishes a boss for keeping his team late, for calling people on weekends, for not enforcing the 30-days-per-year leaves (or whatever is the company policy). Find me a Managing Director, who ensures that every employee gets his/her quota of leaves, irrespective of such inane excuses such as year-end, month-end, festive season, school season, school holiday season, etc. I have seen many CEO types, who take their full quota of leaves, but employees! who the hell are they to deserve some free time! Talk of Simon Legree!
And talk of being thankful that you have a job! I mean, what did the company think when they hired me? That they were doing charity for a mentally retarded, physically handicapped orphan? I mean, no company hires for charity (I am not speaking of Indian Public Sector Units here), they do all the interviews, reference check, etc. just to ensure that they do not pay the candidate any higher than s/he is worth. Sometimes they do get conned!! But only sometimes, after all, to paraphrase Lincoln, all employees cannot fool all companies all the time.
But perhaps yes, we should be thankful..... that the top honchos like our mugs enough to tolerate seeing them every day, that the CEO doesn't lose his job, that the company is not taken over....... that no terrorist slams a plane into another building....... Remember? Boeing retrenched 35000, yes thirty-five thousand, workers due to drop in demand for aircraft post-9/11...... Thirty-five thousand workers sacked for no fault of theirs. Taking an average of one dependent per worker, it is seventy thousand lives impacted. Indirect casualties of 9/11?
Yeah, be happy at work.... be happy that your company does not firewall gmail, google, facebook, blogspot....... be happy that you can chat for a few minutes with your colleagues near the coffee machine...... be happy that your boss, unlike Simon Legree, does not use the bullwhip as a motivational tool..... be happy that you have such a smooth ride back home, no traffic due to the late hour, you see........ and most of all be happy that your kids recognise you as that slob who snoozes on the sofa in front of the TV every Sunday........
Cheers, everyone, and in case you ever hear of me becoming a CEO (or of cows jumping over the moon), show me this blog, and say, "practice what you preach"!!!!!
My question is, why? Ok, I am not supposed to surf the net (or write this blog) on company's time. Accepted. I am not getting paid to write this Insanity. But shouldn't there be a quid pro quo? I mean, what about all those times I stay behind after 5:30 p.m.? Even 5:30:01 is too late, isn't it?
There is an old story about the great Indian statesman, Chanakya, about how he, the Prime Minister of what was then the most powerful empire in the Indian Subcontinent, and most probably in entire Asia, was visited by a friend, one evening while he was doing some official work. The friend waited till the work was over, and once Chanakya was free, the first thing he did was to extinguish the lamp, and light another one. On being asked, he explained that the first lamp was his "official" one, which he obviously could not use while doing personal stuff, i.e. chatting with his friend.
This story is often told by management gurus, by motivational speakers, and even sundry CEO types, "See this guy was so honest, being a PM, he could certainly have used his official lamp for all purposes, but he did not......(blah, blah)."
My take on this is different. The PM of Magadha, or of any other country, past, present, or future, is not a poorly paid handyman. The PM could / can easily afford to use his personal lamp for official work, but he used an official lamp!
Moral of the story: official and personal are both important, mutually exclusive scenes. Do not use the official time to surf the internet, and do not stay in office later than 5:30:00 p.m.
The first point is very enforceable, and enforced, directly and indirectly, by all organisations. Firewalls, so-called codes of conduct, all are geared to this one objective. But what about the second? Exactly the opposite - laptops, cellphones, appraisals, all tools to ensure the employee cannot enjoy a weekend with family/friends, or go home in time.
Find me a CEO who punishes a boss for keeping his team late, for calling people on weekends, for not enforcing the 30-days-per-year leaves (or whatever is the company policy). Find me a Managing Director, who ensures that every employee gets his/her quota of leaves, irrespective of such inane excuses such as year-end, month-end, festive season, school season, school holiday season, etc. I have seen many CEO types, who take their full quota of leaves, but employees! who the hell are they to deserve some free time! Talk of Simon Legree!
And talk of being thankful that you have a job! I mean, what did the company think when they hired me? That they were doing charity for a mentally retarded, physically handicapped orphan? I mean, no company hires for charity (I am not speaking of Indian Public Sector Units here), they do all the interviews, reference check, etc. just to ensure that they do not pay the candidate any higher than s/he is worth. Sometimes they do get conned!! But only sometimes, after all, to paraphrase Lincoln, all employees cannot fool all companies all the time.
But perhaps yes, we should be thankful..... that the top honchos like our mugs enough to tolerate seeing them every day, that the CEO doesn't lose his job, that the company is not taken over....... that no terrorist slams a plane into another building....... Remember? Boeing retrenched 35000, yes thirty-five thousand, workers due to drop in demand for aircraft post-9/11...... Thirty-five thousand workers sacked for no fault of theirs. Taking an average of one dependent per worker, it is seventy thousand lives impacted. Indirect casualties of 9/11?
Yeah, be happy at work.... be happy that your company does not firewall gmail, google, facebook, blogspot....... be happy that you can chat for a few minutes with your colleagues near the coffee machine...... be happy that your boss, unlike Simon Legree, does not use the bullwhip as a motivational tool..... be happy that you have such a smooth ride back home, no traffic due to the late hour, you see........ and most of all be happy that your kids recognise you as that slob who snoozes on the sofa in front of the TV every Sunday........
Cheers, everyone, and in case you ever hear of me becoming a CEO (or of cows jumping over the moon), show me this blog, and say, "practice what you preach"!!!!!
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