The modern world - or as we proudly refer to it, global society - is unjust. It's a tragedy in which all protagonists of our human society have fallen victim to disasters that no one knows how to handle. Where are we heading? Mars or oblivion?
It’s a bone-hard world out there: wracked by the bloodhound fury of human indifference, insensitivity, unpleasantness, rudeness, online trolling, scariness, or any other phrase you can think of to describe the decadent and ultimately a tragic way of ‘extractivist’ carnivalesque human existence on our poor earth.
And on top of that - the darkest chapters of history and indeed of our own time - do not forget the split-second dangers offered by fake news, mis-/dis-/mal-information, hate speech, propaganda, despotic ‘personality cult politics’ of today, violent extremism (intentionally or unintentionally done) to the society. And future pathogens that are just as transmissible and deadly as the coronavirus that causes COVID has been.
Basically, it’s still a matter of survival
I'm not a fan of the retrograde, back-to-nature movement, which advocates embracing millennia-old customs and eating like hunter-gatherers. I’m merely attempting to reorient (or rail against?) myself to disco-fuelled revels of modern existence, or its lack thereof, in a broad brushstroke of generalities without, I hope, coming across as overly privileged as a human species.
First and foremost, here's a very recognisable trope: It’s my life. In fact, it is a tenacious old-school phrase that is still perfectly acceptable to use (but not boast about, mind you; boasting is sometimes stupid, sometimes blithe, usually both, therefore erratic), yet is totally out of sync with today's realities of life in a social milieu where asking for help almost always equals failure. The truth is, you have ceased to exist as a living thing but merely do as prey for global adverts. In a globalised world, your higgledy-piggledy life is no longer yours. Not a bad life, ye?!
The contemporary world is becoming increasingly smaller and indifferent, and change is painfully constant, affecting us in countless unusual ways that, though the problems are solved, destroy the human conscience, loyalties, and moralities. Such is the so-called 'modern' life befouled by chauvinists and a relentless march for material gains that annihilates our planet.
Remember, the world is your oyster? Everyone has a right of place or a spot of earth in it you can call your own. But not fake news or pandemic-scale viruses; they don’t. Certainly not. The fact is that there's far too much disruption nowadays, a sense of malaise as we seem to be beset by disappointments on a regular basis, causing everyone to become anxious and depressive, even blood pressure-intensifying restlessness and burdensomeness that kills you slowly but surely. Peaceful coexistence can never be possible, a reality that is no less than a shock for people known for their progressive worldview. It's depressing thinking about how close we have come to possible human extinction; a near-future event no one can escape. Not even in some pockets of rich, upper-middle-class locales or at some places if you are lucky enough to spot to make it your own or reside there with our ever-present preoccupations with “money, fame, and image.” Given our neurological addiction to technology (of all kinds), such 'places' seem pointlessly utopian: they're merely feel-good rumours, wishful thinking, bits of gossip, and a make-believe interim. Or it's a fight-or-flight situation that wreaks havoc with our way of life at every turn. Regardless of where you live, you cannot escape anything, anyone, anymore. The delicate balance of life, eh? The truth is, it’s no longer your life.
Funnily enough, I thought we might need an urgent ALIEN INTERVENTION from outer space to set us humans and our petty little business of life in clear perspective!
Office politics - a way of life
Sure, the nitty-gritty matters; the finer points; the specifics; the small nuances; the minute details; the brass tacks - you get the idea. (Way back in the late 1990s, a former colleague would always advise (shout out?) from the office rooftop, "BE SPECIFIC... BE SPECIFIC" whenever opportunity strikes. After all, he wasn't using those phrases to convey their meaning for nothing. However, he was correct). So the secret is to be more precise, to speak in greater depth so that people can understand you better. Details matter, but the half-baked ones become inconsiderable. In other words: Subtleties matter and the silly ones become immaterial.
But it took me a while to comprehend the oft-used classic phraseologies like -
EAT OR BE EATEN;
START AFRESH;
WEASEL OUT;
BALLS!, and
REBOOT YOUR LIFE, MAN!;
WHAT’S THE MATTER PAL, CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?;
THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT;
GET A LIFE,
when uttered in professional settings.
Perused by pushy, aggressive management bullies in the private, corporate world, this kind of overbold management argot got me thinking in a questioning way. Soon after, I began pitching it to people at an organization where I once used to work as if I were a nerd (not yet a wizard, ahem ... ahem) who had just finished reading Harry Potter the day before yesterday. Maybe, I’m guilty as charged. However, these afore-mentioned phraseologies (part of ‘office politics’) used to the 'freshers,' or 'new joinees’ (Johnnies…? - as some people wrongly refer to new IT recruits that join the company) creates a negative impression. New IT recruits with white-collar jobs allow the ego-driven ‘smart bullies' of the firm with a false sense of entitlement (the feelings of power!) and faux credibility, all in the hope of feeling ‘better- positioned’ in their team (or turning themselves into holier-than-thou show-offs that start to act condescendingly with their new bakras, scapegoats) and call the shots. Such is their audacity. A Hindi proverb fits well in this context, “Mushkil waqt mein gadhe ko bhi baap banana parta hai”. (Roughly translated: In the worst of times, you need to acknowledge a donkey as your boss!). There have been such occasions, yes.
Unfortunately, no one realizes how to be a decent boss, a supervisor, or a great manager these days, so get yourself taught some office politics and stop being guilty-conscious about being a poor employee. Maybe good bosses don’t exist. There are exceptions, perhaps. No BS (bulls**t).
You may consider yourself an unsung tech maverick or something, sacrificing weekends, working outrageous hours, dealing with a shattered sense of work-life balance, and other horrible woes, but do not offer your kidney to your supervisory managers. It is neither asked nor required.
All that counts is that you make yourself proud by continuing to do the good work; that is the bottom line - loud and clear. Make the best of the situation. There’s no shortage of toxic bosses out there. But the good ones are of a rarer premium ilk altogether. Consider yourself lucky if you report to the best possible boss in the world, unfortunate if you get a micro-managing hawk! A good 60 to 75 percent of managers are unsuitable for leadership roles, yet this breed is in charge of everything at work. Still, you have to make your boss look good. Yeah, yeah, better for your career.
While I have your attention, I’d want to say something. ‘Clever bullies’ and ‘Johnny-come-latelies’ of the corporate workplace are, shall we say, two opposing arcs of the office politics spectrum wherein the former bunch believes it is ideologically more superior than the other and thus has the right of way by seniority and experience, while the latter bunch, always play-nice ones, keeps working bearing their grudging insinuations with a humble, boss-fearing grin! That has always been the status quo, the norm, wherever you work. (Freshers manage to look like maladjusted souls searching for professional excellence that takes a long time coming).
Other smarty-pantses too exist, a possible sub-species that advance their agenda at the expense of others, such as Gossip Hounds, Know-It-Alls, ‘Cold-War’ Fanatics, and a swarm of ‘Cowpokes,’ who are always present in any office setting anywhere in the world. Yet another species of constantly squirming Always-Feel-Superior, self-serving sages that are most obvious in any office environment. At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, virtually every organization has office politics. Dealing with such scenarios can be off-putting for most people who have to tread on the hypocritical bleeding edge of workplace politics at the workplace. You cannot sit out office politics. You’ll eventually come face to face with its insanity at some point or the other. It’s a given. Yes, it's a nastier situation, and there's no other option than to confront it head-on or royally ignore it if you can afford to. I say, simply create a better version of office politics to cope with the type of office politics you are dealing with because if you don’t do politics, politics will do you. That’s how corporate life is usually characterized, it grinds up so many.
Inference: It appears true that high-performing jerks care more about power, money, and status, and that's why they tend to perform well at work. Sacrificing time for work is their forte. If status, power, and money aren't your mojo, you should ship out and start receiving LinkedIn notifications or find something else to do. Perhaps corporate life isn't for you.
Remember, if your things begin to hit the fan, you could become an HR nightmare, a candidate to be dispensed ASAP. I hope there’ll be a change in this scenario that works in everyone’s favour.
(To be continued…)
By Arindam Moulick
Perused by pushy, aggressive management bullies in the private, corporate world, this kind of overbold management argot got me thinking in a questioning way. Soon after, I began pitching it to people at an organization where I once used to work as if I were a nerd (not yet a wizard, ahem ... ahem) who had just finished reading Harry Potter the day before yesterday. Maybe, I’m guilty as charged. However, these afore-mentioned phraseologies (part of ‘office politics’) used to the 'freshers,' or 'new joinees’ (Johnnies…? - as some people wrongly refer to new IT recruits that join the company) creates a negative impression. New IT recruits with white-collar jobs allow the ego-driven ‘smart bullies' of the firm with a false sense of entitlement (the feelings of power!) and faux credibility, all in the hope of feeling ‘better- positioned’ in their team (or turning themselves into holier-than-thou show-offs that start to act condescendingly with their new bakras, scapegoats) and call the shots. Such is their audacity. A Hindi proverb fits well in this context, “Mushkil waqt mein gadhe ko bhi baap banana parta hai”. (Roughly translated: In the worst of times, you need to acknowledge a donkey as your boss!). There have been such occasions, yes.
Unfortunately, no one realizes how to be a decent boss, a supervisor, or a great manager these days, so get yourself taught some office politics and stop being guilty-conscious about being a poor employee. Maybe good bosses don’t exist. There are exceptions, perhaps. No BS (bulls**t).
You may consider yourself an unsung tech maverick or something, sacrificing weekends, working outrageous hours, dealing with a shattered sense of work-life balance, and other horrible woes, but do not offer your kidney to your supervisory managers. It is neither asked nor required.
All that counts is that you make yourself proud by continuing to do the good work; that is the bottom line - loud and clear. Make the best of the situation. There’s no shortage of toxic bosses out there. But the good ones are of a rarer premium ilk altogether. Consider yourself lucky if you report to the best possible boss in the world, unfortunate if you get a micro-managing hawk! A good 60 to 75 percent of managers are unsuitable for leadership roles, yet this breed is in charge of everything at work. Still, you have to make your boss look good. Yeah, yeah, better for your career.
While I have your attention, I’d want to say something. ‘Clever bullies’ and ‘Johnny-come-latelies’ of the corporate workplace are, shall we say, two opposing arcs of the office politics spectrum wherein the former bunch believes it is ideologically more superior than the other and thus has the right of way by seniority and experience, while the latter bunch, always play-nice ones, keeps working bearing their grudging insinuations with a humble, boss-fearing grin! That has always been the status quo, the norm, wherever you work. (Freshers manage to look like maladjusted souls searching for professional excellence that takes a long time coming).
Other smarty-pantses too exist, a possible sub-species that advance their agenda at the expense of others, such as Gossip Hounds, Know-It-Alls, ‘Cold-War’ Fanatics, and a swarm of ‘Cowpokes,’ who are always present in any office setting anywhere in the world. Yet another species of constantly squirming Always-Feel-Superior, self-serving sages that are most obvious in any office environment. At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, virtually every organization has office politics. Dealing with such scenarios can be off-putting for most people who have to tread on the hypocritical bleeding edge of workplace politics at the workplace. You cannot sit out office politics. You’ll eventually come face to face with its insanity at some point or the other. It’s a given. Yes, it's a nastier situation, and there's no other option than to confront it head-on or royally ignore it if you can afford to. I say, simply create a better version of office politics to cope with the type of office politics you are dealing with because if you don’t do politics, politics will do you. That’s how corporate life is usually characterized, it grinds up so many.
Inference: It appears true that high-performing jerks care more about power, money, and status, and that's why they tend to perform well at work. Sacrificing time for work is their forte. If status, power, and money aren't your mojo, you should ship out and start receiving LinkedIn notifications or find something else to do. Perhaps corporate life isn't for you.
Remember, if your things begin to hit the fan, you could become an HR nightmare, a candidate to be dispensed ASAP. I hope there’ll be a change in this scenario that works in everyone’s favour.
(To be continued…)
By Arindam Moulick
End of part 1 (of 3)