Does This Ring A Warning Bell Somewhere?

varalotti · Oct 31, 2006

Most Gracious ILites,
I have been charged of using too many words at times. To counter the critics I am not going to use a single word to comment on this powerful videa attached here. Unzip the file, have a look at the video clipping and let me know what you feel. And ladies, commenting on this clipping is not a favour you do to Varalotti but a social responsibility and a duty you owe to your family.
The subject matter of the vide does not permit me to say, have a nice time with this. I would just to say, Take Care.
regards,
Varalotti

sudhavnarasimhan · Oct 31, 2006

Sridhar,
Where did u find this clipping....looks like an advertisement...i was wondering at what they were trying to sell!

But actually , i want to say No comments.....
we women, at least the ones not career oriented , have nothing to say.....it has to be seen by Men ....and realised by them.....
we are definetely not asking them to work that hard.....it is the work pressure, created by society....that too with the younger generation, wanting to work hard and create a successful life for themselves and family....and there is no way it is going to stop, until the work culture changes that too in the IT fields....
we have suddenly become intelletual slaves , instead of the savage slaves from the older era.....working hard, sitting in a place , in front of computer ....it is not physical labour anymore right?! but still slaves to a different technology in many ways andworking for the affluent countries...they are definetely making us slaves ....maybe more affluence is coming in, but at what cost.....
Well to whom do we raise all these questions....a social change has to come and it will come, no doubt...
Well Sridhar, you did not sayit in words, but i think i have said too much...ha ha
But a good clipping, thanks for sharing with us....

meenaprakash · Oct 31, 2006

shocking.....

Hello Sridhar,

surely the clipping rings a warning bell.
Its infact shocking. but is there any way out?????
In future, we might see women too in the same situation - which means we are all slowly turning into machines - who are going to just work, work, & work.

this clipping is disturbing & I'm sharing this clipping with as many people as I can... thanks for sharin this clipping.

varalotti · Oct 31, 2006

Sudha,

believe me this clipping came from the heart of IT industry, from the depths of their minds and hearts.

I think they are selling some drugs to cure workaholism. That is where the danger lies. Hitherto we have been thinking that being workaholic is just a life style and one needs to correct it for a happy living. But now they say it is a disease like diabetes, or cancer for which ready made drugs are available.

The other day I was pained to see an ad by a software company. The last line read, "Only those willing to work for more than 100 hours need apply." Of course the pay was great. But whatever may be the pay and whatever may be the position working for 100 hours a week would only make us robots.

Marriage, Family, children - all these niceties would not fit into our work culture if this trend continues.

And do these people love their work? Definitely not. A workaholic does not love his work. He hates it and it is a kind of masochistic behaviour that he continues to spend more time in work.
I can appreciate a sculptor spending some 18 hours a day to carve a huge sculpture (like the Tanjore Peria Koil Nandi). There is at least the joy of work. But in the case of IT they have simply taken out the joy of work, it is all well prescribed and well-defined. You need to just to do what is already in the manual.
It is soul-killing.
sridhar

varalotti · Oct 31, 2006

Quite Shocking!

Hello Meena,

In future there wont be any women who will grieve over their husband's workaholism. Because they themselves will be caught in the same trap.

Like the typical American we have now increased our wants. Yes, we do live in great style. Bigger houses, better cars, more gadgets. But at what cost? By the time an average IT guy finds that he is caught in a trap, it is too late. His home loan extends to another 15 years, car loan for 4 years. He is forced to work, to work mindlessly, heartlessly.

As Sudha pointed out this is outright slavery. Of course there is a very clear improvement.

In the olden days we were bound by chains of iron. And now they are offering us chains of gold.

But bondage is bondage irrespective of the metal used in making the chains that bind us.
sridhar

sihi · Nov 1, 2006

Hello Sridhar,

The first time I saw this clipping, it seemed very funny and I forwarded it to all my friends and colleagues...but second time I saw it the reality slowly struck me. I suddenly remembered one of my colleagues who was affected by this workaloholism. His son called him "uncle" because he used to work late nights (working for a US client) and never really had time to spend with his wife and son. That guy really really felt bad about it, but he continued to work late nights even after that incident.
Having worked in software industry for almost 9yrs now, I think maybe we are all going to be affected in someway or other. I always try to keep work life away from family life...but sometimes it is just not possible. I really donno what to say or comment...and can't think of ways of stopping this from happening in the near future to all of us. I feel we have to learn to set our priorities right. Whether we live to work or work to live is the question here.

Regards,
Sihi

varalotti · Nov 1, 2006

It is Not Funny, Sihi!

Hello Sihi,

It is not funny; it hurts and hurts deeply. Of course all of us need to work. For me work is as essential as food or water. I cant survive if I don't work for 2 weeks at a stretch. But all said and done we dont live to work. Only machines, computers and the like live to work. We human beings work to live. Work is only a process of life and it can never become the purpose of life. And if it so becomes, then that is the sure road to disaster.

When we unearth remains of old civilisation or read the history of past eras we value the people based on what they did in their leisure. The paintings, the sculptures, and the writings alone talk about the civilisation.
In the pre-historic past hunting was equivalent to "work". But they did not go on hunting like 100 hours a week. The moment an animal is hunted and killed, work would cease. The family would sit together for a dinner. The man would then take it easy for some days before starting to go hunting again.

But now people go on working though they know that they would not have the time to spend the money they make by working. Very soon we might lose our capacity to relax which would be a major catastrophe besides which AIDS would like a picnic.

Thanks for the participation, Sihi.
sridhar

Chitvish · Nov 1, 2006

Are you wondering ?

My dear Sridhar,

Since I am always early to post my views, perhaps you thought, why the delay ! ( I am feeding my ego, no doubt, by saying this ! )

I was too disturbed when I read this. Leave alone, the I T lives of the present generation. My mind “flew back” to my younger days. V was such a workaholic, that a thought of my younger days, still sends a shudder through me ! He used to be away in office for atleast 14 hrs per day. He hardly knew details about our own children, how they perform in school, how they are shaping up in life, as individuals. At one stage, my son used to feel so disturbed that he used to refer to his father to me as “ your husband”. Finally the “bonding” between him & the children took a back seat in his life, which, I feel very sad about, till today. Literally he was a “lunch-chaser” & I was the “nest-defender”.

Now it holds good for both the spouses. They, I feel, “burn out” very soon. They opt for a single kid ( now called D I S K – double income single child) or no kid ( D I N K ) ! But, at what cost ? How long can this phase last – definitely not forever. By the time they review the situation, they would have been worn out more mentally than physically.

Unless, one makes a conscious decision, to restrict his working hours, the money he wants to make, the time he “dedicatedly” wants to spend for his family, things are not likely to change. Stress will be the main “silent killer”, forging ahead of heart attack and cancer. And, sadly, that will be the price, ultimately, not he, but the workaholic’s family will have to pay !

You rightly said that we should work to live and not live to work. This post of yours, shows how deeply you are disturbed about the silent, unhappy revolution taking place in the I T world. A very sensitive posting for which I congratulate you.

Love & regards,
Chithra.

Ushakrishnan64 · Nov 1, 2006

Dear Sridhar,
An eye-opener..though very disturbing.. When I look in the eyes of Chin (the man) there is no expression. I dread to think of his family.
This reminded me of a picture about a man working in the Gulf. With every year of work, his personality changes and by the end of 18 years, he turns into a camel...
We have to focus on reality and try to change our lifestyle, in order to make sure we all spend quality time with our family.

Regards
USHA

varalotti · Nov 1, 2006

The Book Has Its Effect!

Dear Chitra,

Felt sad to know about your husband's workaholism.

It is worse these days. At least in those days it was cumbersome to carry work home. But now with the laptop everybody is working all the time. I was surprised to see people switching on the laptop when they get into the train and keep on working till late hours.

And these people always talk of milestones in life, like becoming a Manager, GM, MD or earning 10 lakhs, 20 lakhs, 1 million dollars.... the list goes on. What happens in between the milestones is the real journey. That is the real career. Once you neglect the journey and focus on milestones you get stressed up, get ulcers, BP, heartattacks - all these have now become signs of prosperity and growth.

It is very difficult to turn out more than 48 hours of quality work in a normal week. People who claim they do more normally end up working more and accomplish less.

A sage once said that a person who loves sex does not become a sex-maniac and attempts to rape people. Similarly a person who loves his work never becomes a workaholic.

Who will bell the cat?
regards,
Varalotti