Friday 5 April 2013

Better fruits from laborers



As we all know there are always two kinds of fruits - bad and good fruits. A tree may bear both these two kinds of fruits. We do not expect all good from a tree. Always there will be some bad fruits also. An apple tree may not produce a crab apple, but some apples that it bears may not be good to eat. They taste bitter or sour. We throw away such apples and wish if they were not there.

Same tree may bear good and bad fruits. If the tree bears more good fruits and fewer bad fruits, we let it live long. If the tree bears more bad fruits and fewer good fruits, we cut it down for the purpose of firewood. The care and nourishment we give to both the trees are the same. So we expect good fruits from it.

So there is no sense in producing any kind of fruits; it must be good fruits. There is nothing recommendable in the works of a labor group if they do not produce good result. Result is not enough, the best result is desirable. The result must taste like a sweet apple.

All efforts without devotion, all work without devotion produce only bad fruits. Fruits it may produce; but they are nor sweet. Work coupled with devotion produces sweet fruits. A task master can make the laborers work hard and harder. But no task master can assure devotion from the laborer. Devotion to the work must come naturally out of the heart of the laborer. Even a laborer cannot force out a quantity of devotion to the work he does. Devotion to the work must flow spontaneously from the heart of a laborer.
It is not a controlled output either by the task master or by the laborer.

How shall we naturally add devotion to the work?

1.    Every laborer wishes to maintain his dignity. Even beggars maintain their dignity. A beggar may bear an ill treatment from our part; but two or three occasions of ill treatment will keep him away from us. Beggar he is, but he has his own dignity and like to be respected as he is. Every laborer of the lowest paid to the highest paid has his own dignity and likes to maintain that dignity. There is no lower job and higher job; there is only lowest paid job and highest paid job. The welcome he receives as he arrives in his factory/firm/institution for the work is the respect paid for his personality. The welcome is not spoken by another employee but the whole atmosphere of the firm extends him a warm welcome. He must feel that the authorities and his co workers are happy to see him coming for the work. He must feel that his dignity is maintained in the firm and should go to work as a proud man. He is an integral part of the firm.

2.    The authorities should demand his devotion more than his physical labor. He is appointed in the firm to work physically. He is bound to do it. But he cannot be forced to work devotionally. Spirit of working produces better fruits than procedure of working. So the atmosphere in the firm must be of mutual respect and caring. Procedure must be kept second to spirit of labor. Every devoted work is an art; and no art is produced by force.

3.    There is a CEO of a popular brand of consumer goods in India. Though some states in India are ill famous for excessive political employees’ union activities, there is no union activity in his firm. The CEO and the visionary of the firm used to gather occasionally all employees together to some picnic spot and spend time with them as one among them. He is not a CEO for the picnic days; he is one of the employees of the firm. Every employee has freedom to meet him and talk of his problems. He listens to problems in the firm as well as family and personal life. He advises and helps to overcome the problems. He is a counselor rather a CEO. He is not sympathetic towards his employees, but is empathetic. So repeated attempts to form a unit of political employees union in that firm have failed. Why people need political employees union when they have a good counselor as their CEO.

4.    Only satisfied employees produce tasty fruits. Unsatisfied and grumbling employees produce only sour fruits that taste bad. No product of your firm should bear the curse of employees. Satisfied employees love their work, firm, authorities and their products. Each product is a part of their life they give for others to live better.

5.    Employees should feel that they are working not for an earning to make a livelihood, but to better the world around them. A better road is safer for them, their wife and children. An good edible product is healthier for their relatives far and near. Speedy governance aids them. They are working to improve the life standard of other people which in turn will improve their life. Monetary benefits come as the second motive.

Why should we bear good fruits? Let us discuss it in another blog.

Professor Jacob Abraham

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