Why is “commitment to work” considered a virtue?
A friend says that in today’s world, it is necessary to do more than what is expected of you in order to rise to the top. It is necessary to “exceed expectations” to climb the corporate ladder. The thought that immediately came to my mind was that if I work more than what I’m paid to work for, I will feel like a corporate slave, but that is beside the point. The point here is, having signed the dotted line to deliver the specified services and being in receipt of the remuneration that goes with it, one is expected to get the work done. Some people are complacent in this situation. Others have ideas of where they want to reach within the organization, or in the industry and work towards it, in many cases end up doing more than what is expected of them to reach those goals. Well! Congratulations! But still in all this where and how did ambition or the so called “commitment to work” become a virtue???!!!
People find their inspiration in life from different sources and for some, nowadays many, owing to the general societal mindset, it is their work. Any sociology text book will define “value” with an example- the importance placed by the American society on career success, resulting in “ambition” becoming a value and in today’s globalized world, it is so in India too.
A friend says that in today’s world, it is necessary to do more than what is expected of you in order to rise to the top. It is necessary to “exceed expectations” to climb the corporate ladder. The thought that immediately came to my mind was that if I work more than what I’m paid to work for, I will feel like a corporate slave, but that is beside the point. The point here is, having signed the dotted line to deliver the specified services and being in receipt of the remuneration that goes with it, one is expected to get the work done. Some people are complacent in this situation. Others have ideas of where they want to reach within the organization, or in the industry and work towards it, in many cases end up doing more than what is expected of them to reach those goals. Well! Congratulations! But still in all this where and how did ambition or the so called “commitment to work” become a virtue???!!!
People find their inspiration in life from different sources and for some, nowadays many, owing to the general societal mindset, it is their work. Any sociology text book will define “value” with an example- the importance placed by the American society on career success, resulting in “ambition” becoming a value and in today’s globalized world, it is so in India too.
posted by laa at 11:24 PM
1 Comments:
How can "Commitment to work" be a virtue ? Its over-rated, for sure.
When one is recruited to do a particular piece of work, it is but fair to expect him/her to do the work in a competent manner.
If you ask me, the "commitment to work" theory arises out of this idea .....
Say you go to a tailor, give him a shirt for stitching : a)You explain the design and other requirements you may need. b) He jots that down and takes your measurements. c) Finally asks you to come on a particular day.
Now, if on that particular day, he gives you the shirt exactly as per your requirements, correct measurements and stitched well, thats a matter of competence and being professional. Not "commitment to work". Would not the same logic apply in an office scenario?
We all need to be competent in the work we are assigned to do.
As regards commitment, well, its there in everything we do. Don't we commit to a friend to meet him/her for dinner at 8 PM ? Don't we commit to a relationship ? It goes on and on...
Commitment seeps into every layer of life and its activities.
So, just because it is adhered to, how does it become a virtue?
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