Nothing succeeds like success, and what better proof to back that statement than India. But with success comes its own set of unique niggles. The Indian workforce is a huge example of what could rein in India's march.
People are in a hurry to rise the corporate ladder. Ask them where, and they will look at you as to what kind of a foolish question is that. Gone are the times when one joined a company and most likely retired from that same company.
The young generation of Indians, or GenX, are a confused and hard to please lot. On the surface, they come across as being sure of what they want. Probe a little and all the insecurities surface. Gone are the times when you rejoiced with your friend when he got a promotion or raise and patiently waited for your turn the next year or maybe the year after.
Today, logic dictates that if my colleague is good enough to receive a raise or a promotion, so am I. Damn the performance appraisals, the progress chart that tell a different story; the reason why your colleague and not you moved ahead.
That I guess is a factor of demand for skilled workers outstripping supply. It's an employees' market out there and companies are bending backwards to hire and retain talent, no matter how mediocre they be.
It's a classic case of a ball bearing, inconsequential by itself, but significant when part of a well-oiled machine. If that ball bearing falls out, the whole machine could stall, or function at maybe below 50% capacity. And that no company wants.
Patience is no longer a virtue, and staying put at one place for more than 18 months is equated to a person's lack of capability and inability to find better opportunity. Ask what is wrong with what they are doing or where they are working at present, and 9 of 10 times the answer will be, there's nothing wrong, it's just not in line with what the market demands.
The constant fear of being left behind in the rat race is all consuming. The mantra of the time is Rolling stones gather no moss. Wasn't that a negative 20 years ago? Yes, certainly, but no longer so.
This thought mirrors lifestyles in today's times. Everything, every decision is near term or in the immediate term. The virtue of investing time and energy in a venture and reaping the rewards as that investment blooms is history.
Employees now want the rewards first with no guarantee of deliverables. Freshers walk in for interviews and their first question is what's the package? We shall discuss other things only if the figure quoted is up to expectations.
No matter how fast the economy grows, not matter how times change, the golden rule of patience pays remains. People who fail to realize that may reap benefits in the near term, but in the long term their lack of loyalty to a cause will come to haunt them.
Another argument is there ain't much creativity in what I am doing. Ask them what's creativity, and they will sidestep that question. Ask them to be honest with themselves and say that they have done justice to the tasks on hand, most will be noncommital.
The logic is there is easy money to be made, so go ahead and make it. Tomorrow is another day, so why worry about it today. It's this attitude that could trip India and delay its transition from a developing country to a developed one.
No comments:
Post a Comment