Shiv Kumar Padha
Chandergupt Maurya had a minister named Chanakya who was known for his powerful leadership expertise. Fascinated by , Chanakya’s, glory a Chinese traveler wanted to meet him one evening. He was shown a small home with a small entrance. After entering the house the traveler saw Chanakya writing some papers under the light of a lamp. Chanakya smilingly welcomed the guest and asked him to sit. He quickly completed the work that he was doing and extinguished the oil lamp he was using while writing and lit the one. The Chinese traveler was surprised to see and asked why he did so. Chanakya replied, ‘ well sir when you entered I was doing an official work pertaining to my empire and nation. The oil used in that lamp has been bought from the national exchequer. Now I am talking to you. This is my personal and friendly conversation not related to my nation, so I cannot use that lamp now. Oil for the lamp which I have just lit is paid by me as my personal expense.” As a part of ethical management, integrity and character are the foundation for trust. Trust is the currency for leadership. It is a common experience that the day once joins the government services comes at once under the protecting umbrella of the law, where the terms and conditions of the new entrant and not those of the employers are accepted.
A decade back the work in the government offices used to start one hour after the scheduled working hours where the employees used to resume their seats only after going through the news papers, taking small refreshment or a cup of tea over a small discussion or gossips about their families affairs while the crowd of the clients waiting for the employees to attend them. Such an attitude of the government employees, getting handsome salaries used to irk and disappoint the clients coming from the far of places returning their homes un attended or un responded.
With the advent of the internet and one can download or read any news paper of one’s choice early in the morning sipping the bed tea. In order to ensure the punctuality and regularity and check the truancy among the government employees, It has been made obligatory for every employ to mark his/ her attendance though the Biometric gadgets along with the location of their offices. It is wisely said,’ one can take the horse to water but cannot make it drink’. Though the governments have tried their best to regularize and streamline the arrival and departure of the employees yet there is no provision for checking their habit of remaining away from their tables or keeping an account of their time they remain glued to the mobiles discussing their own problems with the family members or the friends circle. The habit of our government employees, irrespective of the rank, remaining glued to their mobiles during the office hours is disappointing and condemnable because the clients attending the office are compelled to wait helplessly around the tables till the talks of the concerned employees come to the conclusions. The addiction of the mobiles has taken almost all the government institutions/offices in its ambit. Whether it is a school, college, courts, hospitals the teachers, students, doctors and their allied staff can’t help attending the call even if they are busy in the class rooms, dealing with patients in the OPD or in the operation theaters. The poor person coming a long way to attend the offices are not allowed to meet concerned employ with the plea the officer is busy with an important call. Such an attitud encourages dereliction of duties among the employees which ultimately results in the huge pendency which many times becomes difficult to dispose of easily. The habit of using and attending the personal mobiles brazenly during office working hours tells badly upon the completion of their daily assignments. The ultimate sufferer of this mobile menace is the common man, who, in order to get justice are summoned to the offices time and again and are compelled to return empty handed and disappointed for no fault of their own.
On the contrary the work culture in the private sectors is totally reverse of it because the habits and attitudes of the employees working there are well monitored and are strictly under surveillance. The perks, allowances, promotions are always subject to their daily performance, conduct and dedication to their duties and the benefits of the concerns they work, whereas the promotions and the perks of employees depend upon the frowns and favors of their immediate employers and not on their performances in the public sector offices. The employees of the private sector are seldom allowed to use their mobiles so long as they are on their seats.
In order to ensure that this mobile culture renders more harm to the working of the public sector concerns the habit of frequent use of the mobiles for the personal use must be discouraged rather made an offence because the handsome salaries which our government employees get do not come from the mints but from the poor man’s pocket who is badly hit by the mobile menace in the offices. To waste the office time merely to attend the personal calls tantamount to the dereliction of duties and is punishable under criminal laws.
Dear friends , let us be inspired by such an example of Chankaya and transform our lives based upon these principles/
(The writer is a social activist Basohli)
