This is the mantra taught to many salesmen and the people involved in public dealings, where customers are their boss.In offices , seniors are the boss. In colleges, teachers are the boss. In a shop, the owner is a boss! There are bosses all around! Everywhere, there is a higher authority , who is treated like a boss and the subordinates become overly submissive. This is such a frequent practise and is embedded in the mindset of the people. The effect is clearly visible in activities of our day to day life, especially in offices.
I find it weird! Demeaning! Disrespectful!
I work in IT sector, where we earn our bread from the foreign clients. We are taught to greet them in their language, we work in the timings that suit them, we follow their conventions, so much so that we use their accent while our interactions. The situation is weird at times... it gets funny when a South Indian tries to speak in an American accent..it looks even more funnier, when on a Friday eve, a grey haired man, seated in a dull office cubicle, seated in front of a laptop greets in an animatedly over cheering voice with a foreign accent - " Hellooooo Miss Briganza! A very good morning to you! How have you been? " The moment he puts down the phone, suddenly all the sweetness vanishes and the Hindustani seriousness takes over..
It feels weird , when during a call, suddenly one of the participants puts the call to mute- vents his frustration in local language and then resumes to talk all affirmative things in the call.It is not just about the foreign culture and foreign clients, we keep our actions under check even under the seniors..We live in a fake world and are constantly under the pressure of laying positive impressions..
I felt weird when a senior guy was sitting idle in office, and constantly checking the availablity status of his senior , the minute the senior logged out, he too left the office.Was it so important to show the boss about his sincerity that he simply wasted his time , which could otherwise be well spent with family. Why could he not just finish his work and leave whenever possible, unguided by his boss's eye over him.
In colleges, it is funny how suddenly the facebook and such social sites get minimised when the teachers passes by.Or why the book is always opened during a lecture, even if the mind is wandering elsewhere..
When the owner is around, suddenly the phone becomes secondary for the shopkeeper, and he is in his best possible conduct...
Such and many similar incidences make me feel bad at times...
What do these things mean? Do we really need to be affected this much by our seniors- do we really need to fake ourselves almost everytime and be conscious of our conduct. Is it the work that counts, or is it the showcasing of sincerity that matters?
I realise this may be important in some situations. But I feel one should also understand the fact that seniors too are humans.They maybe judging you at times, but your fake conduct too maybe noticed.As long as you are genuine, they maybe acceptable to your originality.They too are made of same flesh and bones as you, they are not some Gods to dictate your life and certainly they do not deserve that much imporatnace to guide your day to day conduct. Discipline and sincerity should come from within ourselves.
We should have the right to decide our limits and to set up a level , where we do not compromise with our self respect and can feel free.
It is not justified to create a fake world , guided by constant pressure of portraying oneself as sincere or dedicated.Be honest to yourself, and then we would not need to behave like a slave and be conscious about the bosses eye to decide our conduct.....
100% Agreed...
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