Primarily, it is wise to have full knowledge of what work is all about when it comes to physically doing something exerting energy for a purpose, the use and the involvement of mental powers becomes indispensable. One has to work to earn a living and has to think about how to go about with it, the kind of job he wants to get, the qualification, the readiness and the zeal he has to meet the demand of that particular work and all the rest.
In short, it is the hustles of employment. Currently, the issue of unemployment daily covers pages in newspapers worldwide. There is no bread unless we labor for it; no free lunch goes the modern maxim. It is an accepted rule of conduct which briefly expresses the importance of work and the necessity of the full commitment of the employee. On the other hand, there is work not necessarily connected with trade or occupation or employment. Product of the intellect or the imagination also connotes work, the works of Shakespeare, for instance.
To get the work done, there should be some kind of mechanism arranged for it. It is difficult and rather impossible to leave everything to the workers alone. A group of people in which the number of the members is dependent upon the size of the organization, firm or school, should first of all be established. The group is known as administration and it is organized to manage affairs of the organization.
The administration, with ability, looks after the affairs of the setup. It skillfully treats the workers to discharge their duties; in this instance, a delicate contrivance or finding a way of doing something is vital. Perhaps trickery or diplomacy is also employed as the primary objective to busily engage the workers for better production but not to harm them. Management is a body of people who are concerned with the managing of an enterprise, industry, etc. Management, for its operational excellence, provides people with a powerful set of tools that improves their ability to plan, implement and manage activities to accomplish the job they are entrusted with.
One of the big tools of management to keep the workers on the right track of professional responsibilities is a job description. The job description is all about describing the job to its minutest details one is assigned and expected to accomplish them diligently. It is a set of dos and don’ts on the responsibility vested in the worker. Strict observance of the rules is expected of any employee beginning from the CEO to the person in the lowest echelon. Deviating from such clearly demarcated responsibilities results in automatic termination of the work contract in case of very serious mistakes.
Issues of tardiness and absenteeism are among the mistakes routinely made by many Ethiopian public servants and others. If for instance, the work time starts at nine in the morning, many of them arrive at their workplace at thirty minutes past nine or a quarter to ten. The problem does not end there, just after an hour or so, tea break arrives and they go for that and stay there much longer than the time allowed.
Mind you, people patiently lining up from early morning wait to get the service is in vain. At times, there is no higher authority to appeal to. It appears as if there is no demarcation between the authorities and the ordinary workers; it is as though the authorities and the workers share the same sentiment. Wok discipline virtually does not seem to exist in such circumstance, neither does good governance.
When it comes to office situation, a person who needs service, after a long line and a long time waiting, as soon as he enters the office, he meets a highly agitated officer who mercilessly shoots a barrage of thunderous words, before addressing the problem of the person who came looking for it. He does that without paying proper attention to why the person came to him.
There are also times when the officer, as usual, has not come for work under the pretext of sickness or unforeseen problem, the secretary negligently informs the person who seeks solution her boss is away for an urgent meeting. There is also a situation when the secretary, of her own accord, sends away the client without allowing him to meet the right official while he is in the office. What a work discipline!
Situations are very disheartening when we further dig into the depth of the problems that the people suffer. If the applicant by some sheer chance happens to appeal to the so-called CEO, it is just a waste of his breath. The boss does not take any measure against the offending secretary; after all, it looks as if they share the same sentiment; it is like scratch by back and I will scratch yours, the common Ethiopian expression, meaning, do me a favor and I will do you a favor, too. Such is the situation in many offices in the country. It seems there is a secret bond between the boss and the loyal worker. Whichever way one turns, there is no solution. There is no accountability; which means, its absence is a license for professional misconduct.
Moreover, in several instances, owing to the absence accountability, let alone outsiders, even the staff (the insiders) face problems such as forcefully forfeiting their benefits like sick leave, and denying them the right of being paid their monthly salary in time. The offending parties remain safe and sound in spite of what they do to the employees. Based on such circumstances, it is easy to conclude that there is no authority or manager.
Or else, the manager is incapable of enforcing the law to make the employees discharge their duties according to the job description of the organization or the firm. Failing to effect the requirements due to laziness or defiance is nothing other than an indication of wrong work discipline which is liable to reprimand or strict measures.
The subversive work discipline pervades all the various work areas causing great harm to the people. A patient going to the hospital seeking medical aid, in many instances, greatly suffers due to a lack of timely attention while health workers are very much around. After all, their presence is worthwhile only if they yield to what they are supposed to accomplish faithfully and honestly. Of all human duties, health workers’ responsibility, as it is a life-saving venture, is ultra-care and compassion for the patients.
It should be of the doctor’s or the nurse’s own accord without being asked for; but in reality what we a clearly notice is negligence regarding the life of the patient, only capitalizing on income. While lack of money is one thing, the tragedy is when the patient can afford to pay, while he is in a critical situation and almost dying, unless the exorbitant admission fee together with the contingency is settled, the doctors do not render the due service whatsoever.
In the face of the severity of the condition of the patient, due to a lack of urgency on the part of the nurses, the situation can result in the loss of life. The work discipline is such that since accountability does not exist, whoever is involved in the process gets away with the crime.
The use of mental and bodily powers to accomplish something calls for the enter play of discipline. Work discipline thus should be guided by the well thought pattern of discharging duties given the interest of the organization and that of the client amicably.
The service rendering party, in particular, should prioritize the needs of those who come to them seeking good services. On the part of the manager, “Congratulations, you are doing fine. Keep up your good work.” is among the accepted commendations of work discipline. Work discipline facilitates love understanding among people – service renders, service receiver and the manager. Let us all strive to create the accepted work discipline.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 3 January 2020
BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
