“My **** manager had assigned me hell lot of tasks dude”, grumbled my friend when he came home
at 8p.m on a Friday. I am sure he is not the only grumbling friend I have;
there are lots of others who mutter about their software jobs. I always wonder at the tendency of most of us to
wrap their problems in one garb and name it “corporate life”. While relapsing
on a chair in an air conditioned room watching you-tube videos (only when free :-P),
we complain about our handsome-paying jobs.
In this article of mine, I would like to divert the readers’
attention towards other professions as well. Perhaps, it might make them
realize that the grass is always greener on the other side of the hedge. We are
so prejudiced towards the negativities of our jobs that, this strong feeling of
dissatisfaction has turned us blind towards the real struggle of some
non-corporate employees. The clamor for ‘job satisfaction’ has led us into believing
that, whatever job we do in IT industry is worthless and this feeling of
resentment often results in high attrition rate.
It is strange how every other job looks awesome than the one
we are into. Being a software engineer, we might even take a liking towards the
profession of an auto-rickshaw driver or a bus conductor. Some study
engineering passionately and get into their dream jobs, stay happy for the rest
of their lives and the rest pursue it for the prospects of a high paying job
and sooner or later, they end up cursing their profession and start waiting for
a dream job to strike them, as if it’s an epiphany.
Even though I am still a newbie software engineer, I have had
the opportunity to understand the plight of people working only to fulfill
their square meal and I couldn’t help but think about our lives where even
slippers are branded. In spite of basking in all the glories and luxuries of
our jobs, yet we crib about our lives. That life where shoes and burgers are
just a click away. In fact, I feel that
all the comforts we need are easily accessible to us. But, I was compelled to
contrast my life with that of Suresh,
(Name changed) a ‘Lift operator’. For 12 straight hours, from 8p.m to 8a.m, he
does nothing but wait for someone to press the button so that he can justify
his presence. How can he make peace with that constant, agitating thought of
“What am I doing here? No, I deserve to be in a better place. I can do better
things than just pressing some buttons”. I couldn’t help myself from asking him
about his duty. Pat came the reply- “Ella
aa devara kaiyalli sir. Nam kaiyall enide?” (It’s all destiny sir, we are
just his puppets). I stood speechless. That day, he taught me an invaluable
lesson- “Be complacent with what you
have and what you can achieve. Don’t put your weight behind dreams which are
tantalizing.”
I felt, he deserves a much better salary than us for his
patience and mental strength which we don’t have.
If you are in a quandary about your job satisfaction and have
run out of options, I would suggest you to strike up a conversation with people
like Suresh who can placate your agitated mind.
The sight of a busy Bangalore street is quite disturbing.
Horns blaring, crowded streets and hawkers wading their way through. Amidst all
this hoopla, Gopal, (Name changed) a
BMTC bus driver skillfully prevents a minor collision and ultimately avoids a
major traffic jam. It was quite an unusual sight in a BMTC bus that day- vacant
seats! I took advantage of this situation to start a conversation with him.
Unlike Suresh(Lift operator), Gopal vented his frustration on the higher
authorities. He spends half a day away from his family, driving a packed bus on
the streets of Bangalore with the constant thought of punctuality in his mind
and yet, becomes another victim of harassment.
There are still a lot people like Suresh and Gopal, whose
miseries are totally unknown to us. We are actually a privileged lot. Think
about this statement for a while. I hope, if not many, at least some of you can
appreciate this fact. So, when you are sad with your life because of your job,
stop being sad and think of those people who have experienced what we might
never experience- “Poverty”.
