Page 15 - Seniors Today

and hard work for years right from their get anyone anywhere; ask the go-getters
younger days. Clearly both were alluding
to the need for enhanced productivity in
an ethos of ‘atmanirbhar’ India. It’s no
gainsaying the fact that our country fares
poorly on productivity metrics. Perhaps,
the comment ‘how long can you stare at
your wife’ was inappropriate, but then it
got twisted out of context and the ruckus
that followed ensured missing the woods
for the trees; the spirit was lost and the
letters ruled. This is not to disregard
the responsibility of corporates to pay
commensurately if they expect people to
live out of office and not merely work out of
office. Having said that, everything getting
served on a platter and government doles
and freebies and the greed for quick fixes
is seeing an impatient youth unwilling to
work hard for a living, but grow in life at
double quick time.
I cannot but help recall my own growing
up days. I started working in a CA firm
at 16, immediately after my matriculation
and the last of a short annual ‘native place’
holiday. From a demanding mentor and
a perfectionist who hewed and shaped
me in my formative years, from attending
morning sessions in colleges and working
long and hard through the day serving
the clients’ needs ( they could put QSRs
to shame ) incessantly was draining to
say the least, but it was the best training
that I could have got. This foundational
development and exposure to hard work
and diverse experiences held me in good
stead across my subsequent corporate
journeys and resulted in career successes
which I am happy with. The work life
balance, that one clamours for and is
important, was something that one
consciously weaved into the weft of family
life, as best as possible. After all cribs never
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #68 | FEBRUARY 2025
and successful people.
A young private bank executive, nudging
30, had come to meet me the other day
evening to complete the much-detested
periodic KYC for my bank account. She
had joined as a trainee and an eight-year
stint had seen her rise up the ranks and
manage client relationships, a crucial job
in a bank, who have the eternal challenge
of raising deposits to survive as traders of
money. On an average, she puts in about
10 to 12 hours everyday in a demanding
organisation. She was in a rush to head
back to her office to complete other
assignments in her list before she could
call it a day. She was sanguine about it and
accepted it as a way of life in the interest of
survival and sustenance in a harsh world.
Her friends, be it in law firms or audit and
accounting firms or consultancy firms or
medical practice or in the manufacturing
and trading sector, the story is no different.
If you have to stay in the game you have to
deliver day in day out. If anyone has a peek
into the startup world, they will be amazed
at the tenacious and sedulous founders, 24
hours is not enough for them. Competition
Image courtesy: satyaspeaks
15