Corporate Jails- Institutionalized

I read the top 10 resolutions of 2010 and was little surprised to see two entries in that priority list.

1. Spend more time with family and friends                                    2. Enjoy life more

Though this survey was conducted across America, i guess most of us here might also include these two in their lists. Though we are in a better position on a whole when compared to days earlier, thanks to the so called western culture but I feel somewhere down the lane, we are being driven into a system which looks flashy from outside but eventually takes the life out us. I need not think of any examples but I know for the fact how many people around me are working ‘hard’ without interest just because they are a part of the system. This includes me as well. It’s easy to say ‘ just quit and do what you want’ but again it’s a will issue. These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. we’ve seen people quitting jobs to pursue their own dreams; the lucky ones strike gold and the rest will eventually be a part of this system again.

I feel surprised to see these two entries in the priority list because the reason we work is to have a good life and spend quality time with family. It’s understandable if a daily wage labor has these kind of resolutions because even if he/she doesn't work for a day, feeding his/her family would be tough. On the other hand, we earn 5-6 digit salaries, have a decent place to live in yet all the quality time we find is only on weekends. I also understand this is not the case with everyone because there are people who love the job they do and are happy with the way things are or just happy with no job at all but on the other hand there are guys who are totally lost or silently adjusting to this fact. Just like the basic human needs- food, shelter and clothing..i guess family/friends bonding is equally a need in today’s world, what we call as work-life balance which i feel is completely lost in the name of corporate work cultures and brand values. Sometimes, when I see people boarding the office bus/cab, it looks like prisoners boarding the police bus at once…silently, one after the other with sad faces..unlike or college buses :P Professionalism eh?

Last month, i was posted on a project in a known good company where my job was to handle new hires and train them on the tools we use, and honestly when i looked at the IT policies of that company, it made me feel like i was in jail. Right click disabled on all PC’s, cannot change wallpaper, no access to notepad (forget MS word) , no email client, usb drives disabled, no access to external websites, etc. Nothing against the company though but I feel sorry for the employees. They cant expect us to look at the company’s wallpaper daily and work on a 800x600 resolution.

However, the bottom line again depends on the choice we make and for guys who are used to this system will eventually lose their flexibility and will fight against the word- change; and when that happens- we either get busy living or get busy dying. Reminds me of two characters- Brooks and Red from Shawshank Redemption.