Performance Vs Drudgery

Performance Vs Drudgery

Though people might have different opinions about what constitutes work, they might, probably, agree that work is indispensable for each and every individual. Each of us has to work to meet our daily needs and to sustain ourselves on this earth. After looking at the latest form of the drudgery at work places I started thinking whether work has taken the new forms of slavery. A deep thought and a discussion with few friends has allayed my fears. Perhaps it would be stupidity to equate work with the draconian name of slavery.

After interacting with people working in corporate sector, I was disheartened with their interpretation and definition of work. Most of them had a straight answer, if not for the huge bucks they would never work. Then the immediate question that prop up in my mind is, whether are people willing to work if they don’t need money? Undoubtedly, a vast majority would right away say “no”. It may not be surprising to know that provided money is not a constraint; people might come up with several new ways of enjoying life. A life which they might have longed for years and pursue interests that might give them lot of satisfaction and contentment. Then, does it mean that no person would ever want to work if they have sufficient money to sustain themselves and their family? For some, work is not for mere sustenance, in fact it is their surest route to accumulate wealth.

Now a days we find people working for long hours. They spend nearly 12 hrs everyday in their offices. With the growing corporate trend people are getting habituated to long hours. For this specific category of people work is means of livelihood or further down the road, a means of accumulating material possessions. People in this class definitely miss the joy of working and complain it as a back breaker. Hence we hear people complaining the rigor of working long hours. This is one perspective of work, and I do not intend to generalize.

In sharp contrast to this section is a different class of people for whom work is an embodiment of passion. They work out of joy of expressing themselves. They work incessantly not for any rewards or incentives. For them it is a passion, a form of pursuing their deep seated interests. They derive lot of satisfaction and mental peace in their work. They hardly have any complaints about it. They find true bliss and ultimate joy in working. Often, those are the people who scale to the greatest peaks and are recalled for generations together as pioneers of their field.

This small category of people continues to work incessantly out of passion for something. The way they work is really exemplary. They are not bothered about the results. They simply work. Work of this kind would be so satisfying. It is worth praising their deep love and passion.  They are not swayed by the tide of monetary benefits and they continue to deliver the fruits of their work / intellect to the society selflessly. Truly, they are the contented and spirited souls who have the courage to take up a goal/objective and work selflessly. I call it exemplary, as in our society; literally everything is measured and quantified in terms of money. To find a person working relentlessly for a goal/objective has become a rare feature. When we can make our passion our work we truly find perfect harmony in life. For others who couldn’t make it, maybe they should continue to work with passion. Unfortunately in our contemporary world the percentage of this category of people is much less. But they are the real masters or the exemplary personalities who set a mark of their own.

The fact that, in general, many of us spend the most productive time of our lives to make ends meet is bothering. When will we ever recognize what we actually want in life? Is there no place for any kind of personal pursuits in this growing rat race of professing professional capacities???? The surest solution to feel contended and happy is to love our work or work hard to pursue our passion.  If a person’s passion and work are in the same field they really experience the joy of working and life would be really blissful.

"Work without love is slavery"- Mother Teresa

 

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