I had a chance to talk to some of my office mates with regard to their
work. And personally what is most relevant for me to write about is the
realization from one of the articles I read during one of my random
reading times (usually during lunch break) which I can somehow relate to
their thoughts and status at work. It says something like the system
in which we are compensated for our work is based on the presumption of
how linear our work production would be. It is all included in a
contract, which really is an illusory mechanism of the realm of
economics.
This was emphasized in my Industrial Relations (Industrial Sociology)
class when I was in college. The contract puts a value into how 'much'
your work would be, disregarding how much hours you would put into
working for a certain work. For example, you signed up for a P15,000 per
month work. This '15,000 per month' doesn't really take into
consideration the hours you spend working on the task. If it takes you
the whole month (including weekends) to do it, the P15,000 supposedly
encapsulates it all. Of course there are mechanisms of 'overtime pay'
and ‘double pay’, but on a worker's point of view, it is highly
questionable how much the OT and DP could really compensate for the time
lost.
This is not a question of compensation.
This implies that time is not accounted for in the assumption of the
contract. Many of us spend more than just eight hours for work. We
sacrifice our personal lives, we sacrifice our other lives. But the
contract does not give a damn about it. For we are paid based on a work
deliverable, and as long as the deliverable is not yet there, it means
we do not deserve to acquire what the contract stipulates. We all can't
go famished, that's why we comply. Instances of going the extra mile in
anticipation for more opportunities in work also enter the scene.
My point is, the payment for a job does not cover the losses acquired
in the process. There are components of 'production' that cannot
be quantified into a payment scheme. Our sleeping time missed, our
family time set aside. This presents a very existentialist side - "I am
not my job" kind of argument. But when all is said and done, I really am
not my job, at least to me.
There are people who equate themselves with what they do. This is
more observable in foreign countries, based on studies, that a loss of
job often implies a loss of the sense of the self. I have to acknowledge
the fact that there are really kinds of people who find their lives'
sense of fulfillment in the achievements collected in one's line of work.
The success in the workplace means a personal success. I will not
contend with this argument; it is not mutually exclusive with what I am
trying to say. My point is, the success one acquires in the workplace
should not take away the success of a person in other aspects of his
being.
There.
I have a feeling that this is something worthy of becoming a Thesis;
maybe under Organizational Development or Labor Relations. So for the
next office days, I shall read. Read. More.
