Rat race to nowhere
IT promised a life where mundane work would be done by software and executives would be able to do more in less. IT did more than expectation. Office software, easy to use applications, enterprise software - all let the work that used to take hours be done in minutes, many times without human interference.
What has remained unhelped is work-life balance. Long work hours at that time have continued to exist. Infact mind has been put to greater stress due to quality decision being needed to be made every minute. Accessibility to huge and quality data has burdened the processing power of mind. Where laptops and connectivity has encouraged people to take work home, enabling applications on Pocket PC and smartphone will ensure that one is on job in shopping malls, in cinema halls... And in one softskills training we were told to not carry office monkey (work/worries) home. One is now at office the moment one wakes up, one doesn't have to dress up and go.
IT is enabler but race has been always there. The race we run is a race with no end line. It is a race where you see the person ahead of you and you always wish to run faster. And as someone says, its a rat race, even if you win it you are still a rat. Where would the rat rest? Only rats that take rest, i have seen, are the one who are either tired and drop out, or the ones who do not consider themselves to be part of race. For a healthy economy, as economist would say, we want rats to run, run for longer part of life. How could it be ensured that the race ends everyday so that rats take rest and come back next day energized. Government regulations in earlier period for labor class could be used to control work hours. But not now, IT is the disabler. It doesn't look that rats as a whole won't find a way, may be a few might. Rest of rats would pay the price. And some of them who have paid heavy price for the extra speed they maintained would push the lot for higher speed. Only if rats knew that this race has losers, but no winners. Perhaps winners ne'er run!
What has remained unhelped is work-life balance. Long work hours at that time have continued to exist. Infact mind has been put to greater stress due to quality decision being needed to be made every minute. Accessibility to huge and quality data has burdened the processing power of mind. Where laptops and connectivity has encouraged people to take work home, enabling applications on Pocket PC and smartphone will ensure that one is on job in shopping malls, in cinema halls... And in one softskills training we were told to not carry office monkey (work/worries) home. One is now at office the moment one wakes up, one doesn't have to dress up and go.
IT is enabler but race has been always there. The race we run is a race with no end line. It is a race where you see the person ahead of you and you always wish to run faster. And as someone says, its a rat race, even if you win it you are still a rat. Where would the rat rest? Only rats that take rest, i have seen, are the one who are either tired and drop out, or the ones who do not consider themselves to be part of race. For a healthy economy, as economist would say, we want rats to run, run for longer part of life. How could it be ensured that the race ends everyday so that rats take rest and come back next day energized. Government regulations in earlier period for labor class could be used to control work hours. But not now, IT is the disabler. It doesn't look that rats as a whole won't find a way, may be a few might. Rest of rats would pay the price. And some of them who have paid heavy price for the extra speed they maintained would push the lot for higher speed. Only if rats knew that this race has losers, but no winners. Perhaps winners ne'er run!
posted by Bala Dutt at 8:36 AM
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