[Assam] Lack of Work Culture - Sentinel Op ed

[Chan Mahanta]

Ram:

Had it not been for your drawing attention to it, I never would have read it.


BTW, you missed highlighting the main idea :

	These retarding syndromes of unpunctuality, absenteeism and a 
general tendency of
	lethargy are solely responsible for the backwardness of our State.



So, what do you think of the article?

c-da









At 12:49 PM -0600 8/12/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>Even though, this topic has made the usual rounds (including 
>Assamnet), Dr. JB's Op Ed makes interesting reading.
>
>Highlights mine. Maybe, we ought not read such op eds - that may 
>solve the problem :) :)
>
>--Ram
>
>
>
>Dr Jyotsna Bhattacharjee
>Absenteeism and unpunctuality are perhaps not peculiar to Assam, and 
>for that matter in other States as well. The only difference is 
>perhaps in magnitude, as is clearly evident here. In other States, 
>these two retarding syndromes are not so striking, but sadly here 
>they have become an inalienable part of our work ethos. 
>Consequently, our state has been stigmatized as the land of 
>lahe-lahe. Nothing seems to move fast here. Outsiders ridicule the 
>Assamese people as a bunch of lazybones and nothing seems to shake 
>them. By nature, the Assamese people are easy going and gregarious, 
>and apparently do not inculcate any ambitions to outshine others.
>Assam, no wonder, is called a backward State. A nation cannot 
>progress if its citizens are indolent. While other States have raced 
>ahead with remarkable speed, Assam has remained miles behind them. A 
>State's welfare depends on the people, and if the people are slow, 
>unambitious and drowsy, naturally there can be no hope for such a 
>state. The people here want jobs but do not want to work. They do 
>not want to take risks or struggle. Till some years back, there was 
>no Assamese businessman worth the name; the whole business was in 
>the hands of outsiders. Only in recent years, we have seen Assamese 
>boys and girls joining the business line and they are doing very 
>well.
>But sadly we have not been able to shrug off our characteristic 
>aversion to exertion. Because of that we have become the butt of 
>ridicule and humiliation. We feel ashamed whenever we notice the 
>progress made by other States. Ironically, even in our own country, 
>people were not aware of our State or its people. It is only since a 
>decade back that Assam has caught the attention of the people due to 
>all the wrong reasons of insurgency and violence. Unless we can 
>shrug off our lethargy, the future of our State is certainly doomed.
>People clamour for jobs and are ready to pay a large amount of 
>'demand money' for it. After securing the job, the applicant sits 
>back to enjoy his life of leisure - looking for ways and means to 
>earn some easy money from hapless people, besides earning the salary 
>at the end of the month. The office becomes the place for relaxation 
>and gossip. These people do not care as to how much their indolence 
>is affecting the public. You may take a round of these offices for 
>some urgent piece of information, but you do not get it. Letters do 
>not bring any response - and then you try to meet a person dealing 
>with your file but he may not be there, and nobody knows whether he 
>is present or absent. In such a messy situation, you may wonder if 
>these people have added invisibility to their other accomplishments. 
>Even if you manage to meet the persons concerned, do not think that 
>your work will be done. Either he will ask you to come another day, 
>or your file may not be found at all. But bring out your purse and 
>the missing file instantly reappears, as if by magic.
>These employees are concerned about nothing else but money. They 
>start agitation at the drop of a hat. They demand better wages, 
>better facilities and better prospects. But they forget that rights 
>and duties go together. One is meaningless without the other. If it 
>is their right to get better wages and better facilities, then it is 
>their duty to work with sincerity and dedication. But we people, 
>though extremely conscious of our rights, are often forgetful of our 
>duties.
>Even if they are present in their respective offices, work proceeds 
>at a snail's pace. Nobody seems to be interested in the job. Cobwebs 
>can be seen everywhere and it appears that the floors do not see a 
>broom for months together. Dusty files clutter the tables and the 
>floor. They almost appear to reach the roof. It is not known if they 
>are ever opened. What a depressing sight!
>Absenteeism is not peculiar only to government departments; it has 
>spread to private establishments as well. An owner of a firm, 
>dealing with refrigerators, air-conditioners and other electrical 
>gadgets, ruefully says that he cannot give proper service to the 
>customers, as some of his employees are frequently absent without 
>any intimation to the office. He is sure that these people are doing 
>temporary jobs with attractive remunerations, while remaining absent 
>in their regular jobs. Yet they take regular wages at the end of the 
>month. He dare not reprimand them or take recourse to pay-cuts, as 
>they would start agitation against the 'injustice' of the management 
>towards the workers.
>Due to the sloppy work mode of these diverse departments, the 
>taxpayers suffer. You do not get proper service from any of these 
>establishments, whether government, semi-government or private, to 
>telecom, electricity, municipal corporation or any other, though it 
>happens by your right. Yet if you pay them some money, the work 
>would be instantly done, though they should do it without demanding 
>money. That is our work culture.
>Unpunctuality is another malady, which has thrown a spanner in the 
>work output. We have taken unpunctuality as an inevitable feature of 
>our life. We know that people in any office will not arrive at 10 am 
>and so we have to adjust our time to theirs without a murmur of 
>protest. And why should we? All of us are unpunctual. In any meeting 
>or seminar we arrive an hour late, knowing fully well that none 
>would turn up in the scheduled time. Usually employees reach their 
>various places of work an hour late and depart an hour early. It is 
>an established unwritten norm - and is accepted universally in our 
>country.
>These retarding syndromes of unpunctuality, absenteeism and a 
>general tendency of lethargy are solely responsible for the 
>backwardness of our State. Whenever a new employee joins, he may be 
>energetic and sincere, but gradually after seeing the work culture 
>of his senior colleagues, he too falls prey to the same syndromes. 
>This ''no work culture'' has not only affected the economy of the 
>State, it has also harassed the common people. They waste time, 
>money and energy by making rounds in some departments, run from 
>pillar to post to get some work done, but to no avail.
>There may be myriad causes of the casual attitude of the employees 
>towards their respective jobs. Sickness of a family member, domestic 
>problems, inadequate wages, personal maladjustment, lack of interest 
>in the job and many more. Lack of motivation may be one of the most 
>fundamental causes of this insipid attitude of the employees towards 
>their duty. It is essential for the management to motivate the work 
>force for better results. A healthy relationship between management 
>and workers is very much necessary for motivating the employees. And 
>of course, the high officers themselves should lead by example by 
>adhering to punctuality and regular attendance.
>(The writer is a former Head of the Department of Philosophy, Cotton 
>College, Guwahati)
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>assam mailing list
>assam at assamnet.org
>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.assamnet.org/pipermail/assam-assamnet.org/attachments/20070812/f9d07a60/attachment.htm>