Is the WORK CULTURE in modern-day India, a by-product of its servitude past...???

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” - Tony Robbins 

And your decisions of today are a mere byproduct of your experiences and learnings of yesterday, all formulating into the “YOU” of the hour.

India as a country has had a vibrant history dating its origins back to the Paleolithic period. Like any culture, its journey to the now is interspersed with many a rise and fall of empires and conquests. Right up to the recent foreign dominion, till about half a century back. And just like for a person, a country/ culture’s destiny too is shaped by the experiences of their progenitors. 

Today’s Corporate India is on par with the rest of the world, at least in hardware viz, office spaces, technology, facilities et al. The software to has a promising lineup of employee engagement initiatives, recognition, monthly luncheons, work-life balance etc; but overall, something still seems amiss. 

Phrases such as “9 - 5 job”, “government job(sarkari naukri)” in an Indian work scenario are akin to a job where one is not needed to work exponentially or even if one does work, it is the bare minimum required. Phrases as such are served as a taboo to discriminate against those who take a stand for themselves and try to bring a positive balance between their personal and professional lives. This is proof enough of the populaces attitude that for anyone to be even remotely considered as successful in their chosen role, they need to be at their workstation within the longest realms of possibility. Irrespective and often unchecked on the quality of work and the amount of productivity or even if that employee’s working late was even needed at all. 

And this attitude radically polarizes the core foundation of “work-life balance" by leaving no space for life in a person's workweek. One can figuratively draw parallels here with the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, with neither the employee nor the corporates taking a firm stand on the active implementation of work-life balance policy and opting to make a”9-5” work culture a reality rather than a taboo phrase. This in turn has rather, set in motion a culture that the one who works the longest, works the best, and “THAT” one person often does get rewarded. 

Contrast this with an international work environment, where one is measured by their productivity and quality rather than merely contributing their physical self at work. The glaring contrast does however points to a question as to from where has this attitude crept into our culture?

Has our psyche evolved from the cultural heritage of our ancestors, both pre and during the colonialization period, their servitude and is same the being passed down through generations as a psychological DNA?  

-- Kketan