Professionalism or feudalism?

Both are widely quoted assertions of the marketplace, a marketplace currently teeming with new opportunities in media, leisure, marketing, information technology, etc. A marketplace that is also buzzing with the trajectories of a few companies that have struck gold in a remarkably short time. One does not argue with the prevailing wisdom of the marketplace (as one does not argue with the tide – it is an exercise in futility). But one can take a look at the new work culture that is increasingly taking shape and what it implies for the young who will toil under it.

Multi-skills – the mantra of the new age worker – is also a necessity at a time when technology is fast replacing labour: the copy writer must also be able to send a fax and work the xerox machine. Clerical and secretarial demands on people in more specialised jobs is just one aspect. There is also the growing tendency to spread an employee over diverse functions. While this may seem to spur adaptability it displays an increasing disregard for expertise. There is little value or even chance for the development and maturing of skills in a particular area when employees become neutral commodities or, more accurately, handfuls of clay to spread over cracks wherever visible. A similar attitude prevails on the subject of working hours. Long hours and endless cups of coffee have been a part of and have, in fact, fuelled the glamour associated with industries such as advertising and television. But the Silicon Valley lifestyle of working round the clock, seven days a week, 365 days a year is catching on all around.It is seen as an essential adjunct to the idea that all business today is a fervid race. I have seen at least two Mumbai-based employers in recent times berating their office managers at the unforgivable sight of an empty office after dark.

In the past employees’ unions might have protested. But in today’s changed world employees actually vie to work late and achieve often unreasonable targets. The motivation comes from a school-like combination of fear (of shame or dismissal) and incentives (money, recognition). Like organised religion or a cult the workplace has assumed an overwhelmingly significant place in people’s lives with concepts such as `goals’ and `deadlines’ achieving an almost mythic quality. Frequent office parties, freebies, even cheap ones, further foster that sense of belonging that contemporary employers seem to consider a prerequisite for their staff.

Loyalty or an extreme display of identification has become an integral part of the new work culture. Business is personal even for the lowliest employee, an attitude encouraged by pep talks and constant references to the competition as `them’ versus `us’. Some job contracts actually specify that the employee must make himself or herself available for the purposes of publicity or brand building in the media. This means that in addition to fulfilling his job responsibilities he or she must also publicly endorse the product. Web czars often appear for TV interviews wearing their logos. The trend implies that not just the owners but everyone working for the company must follow suit regardless of their private views. Privacy is in short supply, understandably so, given that the modern employee is expected to submit all his time, abilities, leisure, motivations and beliefs to his employer. Everything, you would say, except his family. But wait, here’s what Subrata Roy, chief of Sahara, says of his newly carved outempire. In an interview in which he admitted that his employees, including his peers, routinely touch his feet, he explains : "It’s a show of emotion…I’m first a guardian/guide and teacher than anything else. I have a large, lovable and disciplined family of more than six lakh people."

Patriarchy, family, emotion – aren’t these the very things Indian business was trying to shed? Many would argue that an economy thrives on the energy of its people. That the country’s future can be built on new entrepreneurship and the unstinting contribution of its workers. Perhaps. On the other hand whom does the creation of a Peter Pan work culture and the undermining of professionalism really benefit?

Employers berate their managers at the sight of an empty office after dark