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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