I was surfing the Net and chanced upon an old song on You Tube. It was by the Old Blue-Eyes crooner, Frank Sinatra. It went something like this, “Me and my shadow, we’re closer than pages that stick in a book, we’re closer than ripples that play in a brook . . .”
The song reminds me of man and his job. (I suppose a cynic would say “lucky man” in that he has a job. But that is not the issue I want to deal with this week). For majority, if not all, of us, our jobs are like our shadows, at least until we retire. Yes, for a full life time our jobs and we are “closer than pages that stick in a book.” Such is the case of “close proximity” that inevitably for many, their worldview, mindset and attitude is influenced by their jobs. So, unfortunately, it is a case of the shadow (job) defining the person rather than the other way round.
My friend Charles is a lawyer, a very good one I must say. However, after spending years scrutinizing every word in documents and challenging every line in any argument, he becomes as pedantic and fastidious in his life outside the courtroom or his legal office. In his social life he finds it a challenge to see the bigger picture and is prone to raise objection to any project that might in some minor and insignificant ways deviate from the stated norm. He has difficulty in seeing “the greater good” and cannot resist throwing down the rulebook to state his point.
Jim, an engineer, just cannot tolerate any line not drawn straight or any joint not dovetailed (figuratively speaking) in his dealings with family and friends. His favourite words, “I am sorry, I am an engineer. That’s how I see things.”
I suppose we can go down the line and mention all the other professions and their impact on the mentality of the practitioners. It is sad that in such cases the education and expertise of the parties concerned seem to limit rather expand their creative horizon.
While these people personally maybe chicaned into viewing things from the narrow perspective of their training, the situation is further aggravated by the way how others view them. Imagine this scenario: you are at a party and meet someone new. After exchanging some pleasantries and small talks the normal progression is, “So, what do you do?” Once one mentions his job or profession one can almost visualise a thought bubble “Oh” forming above the head of the counterpart. You are, in effect, being typecast. Like the actor who has played the villain once too often, it is difficult for him to take on any role but that of a bad guy.
The influence of our jobs on our personal propensity and public perception of us thus have the effect of reducing us into one- dimensional characters.
Debilitating as that may be, it is even worse when we allow our job and the power given by our job to affect our character. Such is the case of those people once dubbed as “little napoleons” by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. They are so named because these people, being the functionaries of the ultimate authority, namely the government of the land, have within their power to move or delay an application, smoothen or stymied a process. Within the cocoon of their small world they are the emperors. It may be a small world but being the kings of their particular hills has the effect of forming their attitude towards the wider world. Thus, it was of no surprise to read of a report last week that a convoy of at least 40 government vehicles blatantly cutting the queue at a ferry point at a river crossing. They were purporting to be on their way to attend an official function in the Capital, though it was surmised that they, in fact, had just finished attending the official opening ceremony of a mosque nearby. I am sure these people actually believe they are a cut above the ordinary citizens.
To me that is nothing new really. Some years ago I used to go on weekend trips to the seaside town of Sematan. At that time the bridge across on the major river, Batang Kayan, was not built yet. So, we had to depend on the ferry for crossing. On numerous occasions we witnessed vehicles bearing government license plates jumping the queue with impunity. There was no way they could have been on government official duty on a Sunday. However, since it was just one or two cars we didn’t mind. Of course it was against the principle of something or other. I must hasten to add that in my experience most of the civil servants I encountered are decent law abiding citizens. As per usual there are some bad apples in every organisation. These people become bad apples because they allow their job and position of power to get into their heads. They think that rules and regulations (I refrain from saying, laws) somehow do not apply to them.
This is annoying for us ordinary mortals and people who suffered the inconvenience of being delayed longer at river crossings. However, ironically it is more disastrous for these individuals who persisted in wallowing in the delusion of power. There will come a day when they have to retire, which in our case is the age of 58 years. That is still relatively young. Stripped of their position they are like the emperor who wore no clothes – naked in term of power. For many it is very difficult to adjust to ordinary civilian life. During the time they still hold office it was always standing room only in their houses during “open house” of festive days. In the first year into their retirement their houses look forlornly empty during such occasions, and it is going to be increasingly so as the years go by. Many cannot take that sudden “back to earth” situation. They actually get sick and visibly grow old.
Our job is an important part of our life (most important I would say in term of economic survival) but still it is just part of our life. We’re taught that if we work hard, we will enjoy success as a reward. We tend to take that at face value and never quite work out what that “success and reward” really mean. As one writer put it “if we see success at work as the end reward, we’re missing the point. Meaningful relationships in our family and with the world at large are the reward.”
The point is, while we may spend a whole lifetime at a job we should not let that “job” define who are, shaped our worldview, affect our attitude. We must never forget that there other ingredients that make up our lives.
We define our shadows and not the other way round. Have a good life.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected].