Demanding bosses

Youngsters often talk about work-life balance and guarding their free time. However, in yesteryears, we were taught to be completely dedicated to the organisations we worked for. There was a boss of mine in Algeria, who habitually telephoned me on most Sunday afternoons, around 3pm. He wanted to know the sales and profits of the business, in the previous week. Now Sunday afternoons was the only time I would catch a little afternoon siesta. However, the moment I would be in deep slumber, the shrill trill of the phone would startle me.

I was distraught, but could not express it. What could I do? Remonstrate to my boss? Tell him please do not disturb me on Sunday afternoons? I could not. It would impact my career. The boss was a tough leader. He expected his managers to know their business profits by product, by rote all the time. I could not afford to gripe. So, I started to sleep on Sunday afternoons, with the sales and profits figures, written on a piece of paper, under my pillow. Decades later, I reminded him of his Sunday afternoon calls. He smiled and said, “You were a young manager. I was training you to be an ever-ready soldier.”

My boss’s training reminds me of a poem by Robert Frost, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” Youth is a time to strive and challenge yourself. Then hopefully, a person could achieve his full potential.

Rajendra Aneja,

Mumbai, India