Are you a workaholic ? many lurk among us.They secretly enjoy business trips. They stay late in the office when they don't have to. They LIKE Monday mornings. I realised my father was a workaholic the time he failed to come home from work for four months. and his office was only five minutes down the street.
While many Asian dads phone to say "i'll be late for dinner," my father used to call and say: "I've got a bit of overtime, I'll be home next September."
like all real workaholic , my father claimed to be toiling for the good of the family. but don't believe them:when my dad passed away , there was nothing in his coffers.
A psychologist told me that workaholic eventually start thinking of their families as an unproductive corporate department that occasionally needs attention. "The danger sign is wen they start using business terminology at home," she said.
Now THAT rang a bell. I remember one of my friends being given a dark look by his wife, who said :" We need to talk." He replied: "I'll schedule a performance appraisal session at the earliest opportunity." And then he arranged a business trip that took him away for two weeks.
Then there was the accountant friend of mine who came close to starting a speech at his daughter's wedding with the words :'Any apologies for absence ?'
He always starts his family holiday planning by checking which country's currency has hit disaster recently.There are only so many holidays you can have in Zimbabwe.
Here are ten signs that you have become overly focused on work:
1) YOU REFER TO YOUR CHILD'S POCKET MONEY AS "THE WEEKLY CASH INJECTION".
2)You refer to your grandfather's death as "a family downsizing".
3)your spouse complains that you do not take enough interest in the children,and you say, "OK. FINE ,WHERE'S THE FEEDBACK FORM?"
4) THE MESSAGE IN THE VALENTINE'S DAY CARD YOU WRITE TO YOUR SPOUSE HAS BULLET POINTS.
5) YOU SON EAGERLY INFORMS YOU THAT THE KID NEXT DOOR HAS A SHINY NEW BICYCLE AND YOU TELL HIM :THE QUOTA FOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE IS FULL FOR THIS FINANCIAL YEAR ."
6) YOU GO TO SCHOOL FOR A MEETING WITH YOUR CHILD 'S TEACHER AND YOUR FIRST QUESTION IS : "SO, WHAT ARE HIS CORE COMPETENCIES?"
7)YOU THINK OF YOUR SUNDAY AFTERNOON FAMILY WALK AS A "TEAM-BASED BONDING ACTIVITY".
8)WHEN YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER EXPLAINS THAT YOUR CHILD IS FAILING FOUR OF HIS NINE SUBJECTS , YOU SHOUT: "WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU GIVE HIM SUCH AN OVER-DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO?"
9)WHEN YOUR DAUGHTER ANNOUNCES THAT SHE IS GETTING MARRIED, YOU ASK HER WHETHER SHE IS READY TO "UNDERGO SUCH A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT".
10)BEFORE MAKING YOUR SPEECH AT THE RECEPTION, YOU ASK THE BRIDESMAID TO TAKE MINUTES.
Workaholism has now hit India .Passport office workers, complaining about working conditions,organised a " no lunch" protest on march 1 and 3 ,skipping their break .
This was followed by a "work on holidays" protest , where they turned up at the office on the first two Saturdays of this month,when the didn't have to.
Union leaders said they wanted to do something unusual to grab people's attention. they certainly got me. if I were a member of the boss classes ,
I would send unions this message
: " we reject all your demands outright , so you'll have to continue the protests until the next talks, scheduled for AD 2139.thanks !"and then I would add the smiley face icon.
of course ,we need to beware of stereotypes.in global culture , adult Asian males are assumed to be:
1)workaholics
2)money-focused
3)religious extremists
4)obsessed with having sons..
in real life ,of course the are adult Asian males who are not like that . if you ever see one , please take photograph ad send precise co-ordinates to the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Don't bother looking in my house. We'll all be at the office.
