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Thursday, May 20, 2010

The years keep passing by...

So another year has gone by. Tuesday marked the completion of another year of my employment with Asian Paints, the count of which now stands at six. Needless to mention, I am now part of an extremely small minority within my MBA batchmates that are still with their first job. And I admit that I do get the occasional look of disbelief,  sometimes laced with a tinge of sympathy or fascination, when I tell people I am still attached to my first company. More often than not, the inevitable statement follows: "You must be having a near-dream job, and working in a great organization, in order to put up with it for so many years, isnt it ?". And to be very honest, I still don't know the answer to that one.

But I have wrestled with this question for quite some time : "What binds people to their jobs ?". Especially on evenings after a rough day at work, I have spent considerable time trying to come up with a reply. And of course, since I cannot speak for others, I will only answer that for myself.  Strange as it may sound, I feel what actually 'binds' me to my job is the fact that I don't bind myself to my job !!!!.. Let me explain. By this, I mean that if one treats his/her job as nothing more than a source of livelihood (उपजीविका), then one will not develop that emotional attachment with his/her current job. More importantly, there will also not be that attraction towards the greener grass outside. And therefore, all jobs (current as well as prospective) would seem the same. This is, of course, not to suggest that one should  not love his/her current job.  And I am also not talking about being disinterested or, even worse, disloyal to the job. But then, lets face it, how many of us are in the jobs that we truly want to do ??. So my mantra, don't attach undue importance to a job and you will be fine. Here I am reminded of that great Marathi personality Pu La Deshpande's words "नोकरी म्हणजे लग्नाच्या बायको सारखी, दुसरी चांगली म्हणून पहिले सोडायची नाही !!, शेवटी सगळ्या नोकरया, आणि सगळ्या बायका, सारख्याच !!!" (A job is like your wife, you don't leave her just because some one else looks good. Finally, all jobs, and all wives, are the same !!). Of course, I would also like to acknowledge my luck in getting a good employer, great compatriots and, above all, being in my home city. To be living with parents, and having most things given to me on a platter, is a joy and help one can never forget. I could not have imagined myself lasting six years if I was living alone in some other city.

Finally, I would like you sign off with the thought  (especially for those who are compulsive job changers) that if one has a life beyond a job (even at the cost of slightly less money) and finds time to pursue his other interests and ambitions, then that person is better off and will really not bother what he does, or where he works, between nine to five daily.

Cheers
Amit

7 comments:

K C said...

same here..Guess i have the same philosophy but i cudn't have put it better than this..

mayank pandey said...

like your perspective.. the hard bit it is for many of us including me - a job is not just a means to livlihood. it is a place, an arena, a field where you sometimes if not often play to win. Not necessarily the success is monetory but often thats the only place where you get a sense of creation / achievement / or success.

Unknown said...

@ KC : Thanks

@ Mayank: Thanks and appreciate your point.. If one can get the sense of achievement/elation from the job, nothing like it..

Prashant said...

Nice Blog Amit. The reason I never quite TCS (close to 10 years) was because it never let me (kept me busy). In the initial years growth is minimal as you might be finding your feet in the organization and your mind wanders fortunately / unfortunately for me TCS kept me very busy. Later you find opportunities to grow and soon you may realize that you becomes ambitious and it could bee a trigger for you to move if things don't work out. I always found that bosses who are intelligent and are able to keep their folks busy (read challenged for the good ones) will find better stickiness. This is what I feel currently and perhaps the coming years will teach me something else.

Nothing Spectacular said...

Interesting thought! Its making me think - currently not sure if I agree with it or not :-)
That's what a good conversation (and good blog-post) is all about. Keep them coming :-)

Unknown said...

Amit ji, great that u r still continuing with Asian Paints.
If u treat your job as your wife, then I would request you to treat AP as your home sweet home. None of the companies are as warm as AP ( i guess and it is).
I strongly repent for having changed my job from Asian Paints. I was related with AP from July 2004 to August 2009.
I wish i were still at Asian Paints.
It's not the money alone you earn which really matters. It's what you learn along with what you earn.
Asian Paints was more like a teacher for me. The training they give, the things they inculcate, the self respect we have, the mutual respect we get goes endless.
Still mourning for missing that golden opportunity which I had with Asian Paints. Am happy and i feel lucky that I got this as a forum to express my die hard thirst, which I have for AP.
Things cannot be changed as they have already got changed. This is not an advice yet it's a request that you need not think again regarding shifting from Asian Paints to some other dream land.

You are in the most comfortable lap of Corporate World.

Signing of,
Your pal
Venkat M
(now tied with the chain block, so called AUTO maker, the second largest auto company in India to produce cars)

PS: Love to be in regular touch with you, Amit Ji.

Unknown said...

@Lotus Eater..

Thanks for the good words.. appreciate it..