Government Employees plight: How the PM is aggravating it.

One of my friends is married into a family where numerous of her in-laws/their relatives are in government jobs. I was paying a social visit to their place, on a festival. Few representatives from the in-laws side were in an ongoing discussion about the plight of government employees. The focus was on how (Current) government is ill-treating employees. There was a strong anti Modi flavour; the PM being cursed for making their life hell, working on holidays. Government jobs are no longer what it used to be… all because of Modi.

On a later day, I was talking to this friend, to get some perspective. I too have been a government employee, over a decade and a half. So I was curious about their plight.

As the discussion progressed, I learnt about these folks & their dissent. Most have been in government jobs for years. Their major dissent was about working conditions and work pressure. Some of them had to skip a family function recently, for compiling reports for CM and PM office. That sounds inhumane. At least on the surface. As I drilled deeper, a lot more things surfaced. The reports routine monthly reports. In the earlier days, they would have sent it whenever they wished to. Now they have deadlines.

Their performance is being monitored. Their output, efficiency, cases handled, …  a lot of things are being tracked. Complaints handled by employees and grievances are being tracked. Most government offices have been fitted with biometrics. Work timings are being logged. Absenteeism, or frequent late logging in , or not enough hours; they are asked for explanations, maybe conversion to leaves/salary cuts, depending on the frequency. For someone in the corporate/private sector, this is business as usual. However, these folks, they never went to office on time, left whenever they wished. My friend tells me, one of the ladies would send kids to school, husband to office, finish up supervising maids; then leave for the office, leisurely. She would be back home in the afternoon, before the children come back home. Most of the times, not go back to work; being busy with kids homework, and household chores.

Now, these people have to report to work on time every day. They are required to work; work efficiently;  as their performance is monitored,  they have deadlines, targets.

I too have been a government employee. I have actually been in hell. When I joined Army, I signed up for it. Likewise, these folks, when they joined the government job, they signed up to perform and discharge certain duties. The problem is, for past  decades, they weren't held accountable. Now, you have a PM who works round the clock. He doesn't expect you to do the same. The basic expectation is, do what you are paid for. These folks have gotten so used to sitting on their butts, ordering everyone. Now, doing what they are supposed to do, feels like an atrocity.

My ideas are clear. Being from the army, dedication to duty is high. Even otherwise, I expect people to do their job. I would rather have people in government offices to do their jobs (Or are made to do it), working for the country.

What is your choice? What do you wish for? Whatever it is, the choice needs to be made soon. I hope you choose the country.