This morning I woke up with a very sordid analogy. I cursed myself for being so cynical and distasteful.
But that thought was persistent and the more I pondered, the more I saw some sense in it.
The thought was, “Is today’s service industry a sophisticated emulation of slavery?”
Disturbing thought, isn’t it? The first few memories that came to my mind were a few quotes I’ve heard in my professional life. Sample these, “If you can go to the doctor, you can come to the office as well”.
“Even if you’re dying, come to the office and die”. “You can’t leave before doing these XYZ things”.
I’m pretty sure; many of you may have heard similar lines with some degrees of variation. The emotion or intent must have been the same. What’s worse? I’ve been guilty too.
The slaves were at least allowed to sleep to be tormented physically all over the next day. When was the last time we slept without worrying about the report that needs to be sent / high-profile presentation / month-end / year-end targets? I’m not even going anywhere near the blackberry culture.
When I started to pen this down, I thought maybe I should sugar coat this and present it as a satire on today’s work-life or induce dark humor. But the starkness stopped me from indulging in literary celebration of a naked fact staring at our faces.
Expecting productivity and accuracy for the salary paid is normal.
But in the quest of lowering the costs, are we pushing it too far?
Found this intriguing quote by Ayn Rand!
It certainly is food for thought.
But that thought was persistent and the more I pondered, the more I saw some sense in it.
The thought was, “Is today’s service industry a sophisticated emulation of slavery?”
Disturbing thought, isn’t it? The first few memories that came to my mind were a few quotes I’ve heard in my professional life. Sample these, “If you can go to the doctor, you can come to the office as well”.
“Even if you’re dying, come to the office and die”. “You can’t leave before doing these XYZ things”.
I’m pretty sure; many of you may have heard similar lines with some degrees of variation. The emotion or intent must have been the same. What’s worse? I’ve been guilty too.
The slaves were at least allowed to sleep to be tormented physically all over the next day. When was the last time we slept without worrying about the report that needs to be sent / high-profile presentation / month-end / year-end targets? I’m not even going anywhere near the blackberry culture.
When I started to pen this down, I thought maybe I should sugar coat this and present it as a satire on today’s work-life or induce dark humor. But the starkness stopped me from indulging in literary celebration of a naked fact staring at our faces.
Expecting productivity and accuracy for the salary paid is normal.
But in the quest of lowering the costs, are we pushing it too far?
Found this intriguing quote by Ayn Rand!
It certainly is food for thought.
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