 |
 |
When work gives
pleasure VINAY a 36-year-old middle-ranking officer in the civil services, holding a prestigious portfolio, had all the outward trappings of success. He was a powerful and sought-after person among both colleagues and friends. He had a seemingly stable family life and yet he was restless and lethargic. Something was missing. There was no spark in his eyes, his feet seemed leaden and his mind which used to be choc -a-bloc with ideas, plans and opinions was frozen. He was executing his duties fairly well because no one had so far complained but he knew things were‘t right. Coming from a typical middle class family, he had imbibed its ethics and values and had done his parents proud by making it to the Civil Services in the first attempt. He had an arranged marriage. Sudha, his better half, belonged to a wealthy and orthodox family. He liked, if not loved, her a lot because she was devoted to him. Ankush was born in the first year of their marriage and had grown into a strapping lad and had stood first in class V examinations. So, what was wrong? Was it mid-life crisis? In the initial years he had succeeded in pushing the simmering discontent and dissatisfaction to the back of his mind. But of late, the veneer of being a happy and satisfied person was wearing off. He was beginning to get snappy and short with the juniors in his department. Gone was the smiling, cheerful sahib. In the midst of a heated discussion he would suddenly lapse into silence. At home he was getting increasingly noncommunicative and when his children asked him something, he would invariably react with snappiness, something he rarely did earlier. His occasional peg of whisky in social company had now gone up to three to four drinks which he had either alone in a bar or at home, shutting the door of the living room and staring vacantly at the television screen. His children had started keeping out of his way lest they faced his ire. There was palpable tension the moment he walked into his home or office. |
|||||||||
According to psychologists, "this kind of disenchantment in men
usually comes with a disorientation at the work place. It could be
dissatisfaction with the kind of work he may be doing. It could relate
to the fact that his colleagues and juniors were ‘going
places’, climbing the professional ladder, acquiring material success and generally doing better than him. It could also be because of too much or too little work. It could be a realisation that his skills were not really in tune with the changing parameters at work. Or it could be just a feeling of being in the wrong job. Since men derive almost all their self-esteem from their work, any dissatisfaction in this sphere starts permeating into their other aspects of life too." Maslow, an eminent psychologist, has clearly illustrated the pre-eminence of the need for self-actualisation in his Theory of Needs, Disenchantment among individuals comes in at the point when one feels that one’s present work cannot fulfil this need. An individual gets the feeling that the kind of duties he is performing though, fulfilling his need, material are not fulfilling his need for self -actualisation. This leads to disenchantment as an individual can fulfil his need for self- actualisation only through his or her work. For Vinay getting into the administrative services was a big achievement. Hailing from a small town, it was his father’s ambition to see his son in the services. Over the years he began to feel that he was not really cut out for the job. Basically an academic, he had acquired a degree in Economics from Harvard where he went on a scholarship. He was research-oriented and quite happy poring over huge volumes on art, history and culture. In the initial years he pushed all worries regarding the routine and monotonous nature of his job to the back of his mind because everyone said that the IAS was the creme de la creme of society. Besides he felt that no one had forced him to be here. It was a decision he had taken. As the years rolled by such logic seemed fake, even to him. He could not contain his disenchantment which sometimes bordered on revulsion for the routine duties he was required to carry out. An increasing politicisation of the services of his state further added to his woes. He no longer felt he was doing anything worthwhile. He knew he was waiting away, his mind was rusting and his morale was at an all-time low. This is when he began to seriously consider a change in job, even though the family did not support his decision. He answered an advertisement which was seeking a faculty member from the Asian subcontinent to teach at the Wharton Business School. His educational background and all his reading over the years came handy as he sailed through the series of interviews and landed the job. Today he has an NRI status, his family is doing well and he himself is content having finally found his muse in his academic world. But not every disenchanted worker is as lucky as Vinay who came to terms with the reasons for his disenchantment and then did something constructive to set it right. Vinay’s is not the only example of disenchantment among individuals which sets in because very often they find themselves doing things which do not come naturally to them. In fact, most of the times it is society and family which forces certain decisions on them. The basic parameters _name, fame and money, not necessarily in the same order, take precedence over factors like aptitude and preference for a particular type of job. It is only later in life when things have settled down after marriage and children that one actually gets down to thinking seriously about where one is and if one is really happy being there. Pursuit of happiness in a life enriched with stability and growth on three fronts i.e. intellectual, moral and materialistic, is the accepted ultimate goal of an individual. But attaining success on these three fronts at the same time sounds Utopian. According to the Bhagavadgita, "Karma or action is the basis for human existence on earth. Action in the right path and direction can only lead to happiness. Human beings as a species have been so well gifted that there is very little in the world that seems unattainable. God has empowered us to work to our heart’s content and therein lies the key to true happiness." But how many achieve that? Seers have had the answer to the dilemma for the past hundreds of years. They swear by a simple concept of the individual reaching the stage of self-realisation. Armed with this, one would at the very outset of one’s professional life, have a deep understanding of oneself and work towards acquiring what one really wants. Often this understanding comes with age. When a fresh graduate jumps at the offer of a fabulous salary and perks with a new company and unhesitatingly gives up plans of doing a postgraduation degree or when a young student who is ‘fed up’ of studies insists on joining the Merchant Navy and earning a fat salary little do they realise that if they don’t add skills to their professional portfolio, they are bound to get restless and disenchanted with their professions. Fortunately today there are plenty of job options which even the not-so-bright ones can opt for but it still requires courage to make a complete switch in one’s career. Also one has to be in a big city and aware of how things work. Often one only reads of such success stories but never actually meets anyone sees anyone in flesh andwho has found the perfect job and enjoys complete harmony between professional dreams and reality. Another way out, for an individual disenchanted with their present jobs and not in a position to change their professions is to make an objective assessment of the present situation. According to Dr J M Jerath, Chairman, Department of Psychology, Panjab University — "Another way out of the feeling of disenchantment is the concept of getting oneself to like one’s present work." An individual has to derive ways and means of achieving maximum satisfaction from his present job. To achieve this one has to look at the root of the problem and then take steps to remove the causes of disenchantment. For example, an individual, dissatisfied because of the lack of novelty in his work can look for new and better means to perform the same task. However, the fact remains that it is not only important but also essential for an individual to try and discover his aptitude for a particular job. Hard work is essential to achieve one’s goal. But hard work without a goal and direction is a waste of time, energy and resources. Where one wants to go is an important question that needs to be addressed before one can undertake the voyage towards success. In the absence of a guide or teacher it becomes very difficult for a young person to choose a particular career which is in tune with his temperament and lifestyle. As Lord Krishna puts it in the Bhagavadgita, "God lives in the soul of all persons. They are the image of God. The aim of religion is self-realisation; know what you are in reality and the rest will follow." Young men are generally influenced by hype, financial potential of a particular profession and peer pressure which pushes them into making wrong choices. They end up making small compromises initially which can later play havoc with their peace of mind. It has been observed that people who make a mark in their professional lives are those who are lucky enough to pursue a job suited to their natural proclivities . For then they are not really doing a job but are, in fact, engaged in a pleasurable activity which is neither tedious nor burdensome. On the contrary, it lights up their entire being. Rudyard Kipling’s life changed for the better after he received a letter from his father. A few lines from the poem ‘IF’ could serve as a motivation for some of the ‘lost’ youngsters who are struggling to figure out why they are unhappy at work. If you can keep your
head when all about you, |
 |
 |
