“What is Swarga?" Yayati asked Indra. Indra replied, "It is a place where you get everything without any effort. You stand under a tree called Kalpataru and wish for what you want - and you will have it. You stand before a cow called Kamadhenu and wish for what you want - and you will have it. You hold a jewel called Chintamani and wish for what you want - and you will have it." Yayati realized that Swarga was a place with infinite return despite zero investment.
Humans have always yearned for paradise. And to remind them of Swarga, humans have venerated and adored certain plants that bear fruit all year round with little or no effort. This is why the banana tree is auspicious. The tree does not require much maintenance but it provides delicious energy-rich fruit and leaves that can be used as plates. The same can be said of the coconut, part of every household ritual.
We all seek paradise, or a place closest to it. High return on investment is desirable. Or ideally high return with no investment. And that is what we do at work: to get a high ROI either employers demand increase returns or employees try to reduce investment. And it is often tough to measure either.
Sandeep was unemployed for six months. During his interview that finally landed him a job in a tuition class, he was determined to give his best show, work hard and prove to the employers that he was worth the salary they were paying him, even more. So in June of that year he started his job in full earnestness: arriving on time, preparing for his lectures, giving his full attention to the students, following up all home assignments with enthusiasm.
But two months later in August, Sandeep's enthusiasm had waned. The job had become routine and boring. There was no excitement. He felt his returns for the effort put in was too less. There was no chance of the salary being increased, and so he decided to increase his return by decreasing his investment. So yes, he did arrive on time and did do all his lectures, but he reduced his enthusiasm and attention. He gave lip service to the task at hand and refused to do more than what was expected of him in the job description handed out at the time of appointment.
The management then asked Sandeep to do some extra work, take two extra lectures a week. Sandeep refused as that was not part of the original agreement. The management showed him the fine print: he could be given extra assignments should the need arise. Now Sandeep felt exploited: he felt he was being asked to give more but he received the same remuneration has before. His return on investment was turning out to be low. But the management's return on investment was turning out to be high.
Enraged, irritated, exasperated, he decided to lower his inputs. He barely made it to the institute on time, dragged his feet into the lecture rooms, snapped at students, refused to prepare for sessions, barely glanced through home assignments, did not really engage with students, did just enough tasks to ensure he could defend himself should a complaint arise. During office hours, he tried to finish all his personal work. This was his way to increasing his return on investment.
Sandeep realized that tasks can be measured but attention cannot. By refusing to give attention to his work, he could decrease his investment and thereby increase his return on investment ratio. Now, the management is wondering why the teachers of their institute, Sandeep included, are demotivated. They have decided to call in a motivational speaker to stir the teachers, make them more enthusiastic, develop more ownership. But the teachers refuse. They fear if they do show enthusiasm, the management will end up getting more returns for the same investment.
This is the malaise that often spreads through corporations and is masked as boredom. It explains why we seek 'motivation' to do work that we are fairly 'compensated' for. It is our little quest for Swarga.
(The author is the Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group. He can be
reached at devdutt@devdutt.com)
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