“Well Pat, I think there is some problem in your logic. I think I know this software pretty well. I have been working on it for quite sometime now”, says Subir. “Subir, I have been working on this software since time when you were not even born”, was the reply over the phone.
Subir was surprised to hear her say that. He had imagined Patricia, or Pat as she is famously known in India, to be a lady somewhere around 25 to 30 years of age. But to his surprise, Patricia is the name of a lady working in American Express, USA for years, and her age being 65 years! But it was not his fault. Any young person in this part of the world can not imagine a lady of that age to be working at high positions in companies like American Express. In India, people are not known to work for long after they reach an age of say 60 to 65 years. In fact, India has a very different work environment compared to the Western world.
In India, the employed population is in constant search for growth opportunities. The youth of today would like to see growth patterns available to them in their new jobs, the kind of challenges the job presents and the kind of success ladder one can climb in the company and that too in the minimum possible time. In fact, this is one of the most important reasons for the increasing attrition rates in almost all the industries. The industry attrition rates reflect the ever increasing ambitions of the Indian employees. But the fact of the matter is that in the West patience holds the key for people’s success. One needs to be patient to be successful in life. In fact, here one is likely to leave the job if one keeps on working on the same post for more than a couple of years and is not promoted. But the West has seen the sun rising in a different color. In fact, when the Global Heads of these companies visit India, they stress a lot on patience. Job satisfaction is not always derived from growth and increasing pay. It is the work culture and work-life balance which affect one’s future curve. That probably is the reason why Patricia is still with American Express and is satisfied with her job.
One often gets illusion by the high pay packages of companies abroad and we are forced to see them in good light because of the fact that one is able to buy a house, a car and other accessories from his first salary itself if one goes to work there. But we forget the fact that it is a standard there and one cannot compare those countries with India. If one look at what one gains by working there, then one should compare oneself with the other individuals working there and not with his counterparts in India. In fact, we often see the high package offered to B-school graduates in foreign countries making news but this is not a phenomenon there because of the standards. The media is equally responsible for transforming the youth in that fashion. The media should compare those high packages with people working in that company in that part of the world instead of comparing with the Indian counterparts. That would present a better and truer picture in front of all. In fact, that would make the Indian employee more committed towards his job and help him realize the importance of job satisfaction in alignment with other factors like growth and pay scales.
With special inputs from the discussion with Subir, American ExpressSubir was surprised to hear her say that. He had imagined Patricia, or Pat as she is famously known in India, to be a lady somewhere around 25 to 30 years of age. But to his surprise, Patricia is the name of a lady working in American Express, USA for years, and her age being 65 years! But it was not his fault. Any young person in this part of the world can not imagine a lady of that age to be working at high positions in companies like American Express. In India, people are not known to work for long after they reach an age of say 60 to 65 years. In fact, India has a very different work environment compared to the Western world.
In India, the employed population is in constant search for growth opportunities. The youth of today would like to see growth patterns available to them in their new jobs, the kind of challenges the job presents and the kind of success ladder one can climb in the company and that too in the minimum possible time. In fact, this is one of the most important reasons for the increasing attrition rates in almost all the industries. The industry attrition rates reflect the ever increasing ambitions of the Indian employees. But the fact of the matter is that in the West patience holds the key for people’s success. One needs to be patient to be successful in life. In fact, here one is likely to leave the job if one keeps on working on the same post for more than a couple of years and is not promoted. But the West has seen the sun rising in a different color. In fact, when the Global Heads of these companies visit India, they stress a lot on patience. Job satisfaction is not always derived from growth and increasing pay. It is the work culture and work-life balance which affect one’s future curve. That probably is the reason why Patricia is still with American Express and is satisfied with her job.
One often gets illusion by the high pay packages of companies abroad and we are forced to see them in good light because of the fact that one is able to buy a house, a car and other accessories from his first salary itself if one goes to work there. But we forget the fact that it is a standard there and one cannot compare those countries with India. If one look at what one gains by working there, then one should compare oneself with the other individuals working there and not with his counterparts in India. In fact, we often see the high package offered to B-school graduates in foreign countries making news but this is not a phenomenon there because of the standards. The media is equally responsible for transforming the youth in that fashion. The media should compare those high packages with people working in that company in that part of the world instead of comparing with the Indian counterparts. That would present a better and truer picture in front of all. In fact, that would make the Indian employee more committed towards his job and help him realize the importance of job satisfaction in alignment with other factors like growth and pay scales.
Written By: Anubhav Jain, IIM Indore
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