She wasn’t at all a happy clad. In fact, she was so enraged they say she almost turned into a completely different person, the exact opposite of what she had been all through. Recently they say she has started to listen to reason and was slowly retaining her former self. It was all about her hubby. Not that her husband did any harm to infuriate her; his employers did. What happened was that her husband was passed over as if he didn’t exist when almost all the staff got a salary raise.
This was his third or fourth time when he was thrown by the wayside while he had every right to expect even demand salary raise. So why is this happening to him over and over again? Was he such a bad guy that his bosses had the guts to repeatedly deny him the raise he deserved and he worked for? That still remains a riddle as no one could even guess why they were treating him with such disdain. On top of all that, there was something which couldn’t be denied or ignored.
He was a hard worker! Aha! So what more do they want from him? Isn’t that the million birr question? The case, so they say, is still unresolved and it is said he has had enough and was about to resign. Some things aren’t as easily understood as they should have been. But one thing is perhaps some person or persons upstairs must have some unsettled issue with the fellow.
Allow me to ask this question which might sound stupid as stupid can be. “Does hard work really pay?” That must be the silliest question you ever heard since you started being asked questions. Of course, it does! Of course, hard work means success all around! Hmmm… Well since we’ve heard of and actually witnessed hard work paying many times there is no dispute that it really does pay.
The riddle comes when we rephrase the question, “Does hard work always pay?” Not an easy question to answer with full confidence, wouldn’t you say? It all comes down to how we interpret things these days and how we actually act. So in times when all the values of the past are being out the window, in times when all of the most bizarre ideas and activities are filling the vacuum it’s only natural to ask, “What do we really mean by hard work?”
Say there’s this fellow who always reports for work sharp on time and leaves at the end of the working day not a single minute before the actual time. He is that person who’s always at his desk; you know one of those very rare faces who are always there no matter the time or the circumstances. By the way, it’s sort of reassuring seeing those ‘common faces’ at their desks in an environment where not many seem to care.
So this guy we’re talking about is the perfect specimen of near-perfection when it comes to discipline. But then there is the other side of the story; productivity! Isn’t that as important at times even more important than always reporting early for work and leaving not a minute before the day is up for the office?
Say, this disciplined guy is not your shining star or anything that comes anywhere close to the real winners when it comes to actual productivity. For some reason, he isn’t a guy who can’t the minutest responsibility entrusted to him. Everybody’s aware of this fact as it is a daily spectacle, but few if any speak about it in the open; But few, if any talk about it openly for one they want to keep the waters calm by not offending the guy who never utters any bad word against anyone.
The other thing is that he happens to be a popular guy! You know a guy with all those passionate hugs and shoulder bumps with almost everyone except, maybe, the top brass who aren’t very friendly with the rank and file anyway. But even they haven’t gone the length to say anything to him concerning the actual work performance. His popularity is his visa to stay as a staff member for as long as he feels like or he lands a high-paying position somewhere else. So, in many places, popularity overshadows productivity and you can imagine what that means to the other who find themselves engaged in the very responsibilities that directly concern them. the other thing while the exterior self of such popular guys is all smile and joy that workers who can’t manage to wear those wide and sparkling but meaningless grins.
(Yes. you’re right; these days there are more meaningless grins and smiles all around and smartness and protection for the unseen come in sorting which is which. By the way, popularity doesn’t always come with someone being all smiles or a passionate hugger. Though there might be some pitfalls in saying this, the fact is that there probably are layers beneath the surface layers which blow apart the entire mystery of the guy’s popularity. Believe me, there are many such guys all over the place and unfortunately the innocent are entangled in traps they don’t see coming.
Then say there is the guy who probably is sometimes late for work, but sometimes also overstays the working hours. He also has no time for the crushing bear hugs and high-fives everyone seems addicted to these days even with people one never met before. His greetings are measured and the briefest they could be most of the time things starting and ending with a single fast-forward motion nod. If you ever see him shaking hands with another staff member you’ve every right to demand some int’l honor because no one sees him in such a situation! “Him shaking another person’s hand! You must be out of your mind!? When it comes to productivity he’s the very person you’d give the sky and the earth to have him in your staff. Being a no-nonsense worker he is one of those very rare beings who enjoy doing their best whatever is assigned to them. There are even times he stays late after working hours because he isn’t comfortable throwing what he can accomplish today for another time.
Now if there was some universal standing ovation for the best, dedicated workers anywhere in the world he should be the one to deserve the loudest of them. No, especially these days seldom does that happen.
Now if this world of ours was a fair one our first guy who is far more popular than he is productive should have been given advice or two or taught a lesson or two. “Hey, hugs and shoulder-bumps don’t put the brad on the dinner table! So tie your belt tighter and sweat it out!” Our productive guy meanwhile should get those real pats on the back with “That’ ‘s it man; that’s it! Keep it up!”
If the world worked this fairly many things would have changed for the better and our smiles would have been genuine. Popular vs. Productive; that’s some duel that is a very long way from being settled!
BY EPHREM ENDALE
The Ethiopian herald September 1/2024