salary

2 Workplace behavior tips I picked up from my maid

The other day my current maid who is a hard and efficient worker did a real great job of cleaning up my house. I was particularly impressed by the hassle free attitude she has towards her work. After cleaning up my house she came to me and politely asked for a raise. Being super impressed with her work I felt she deserved the raise and happily obliged her.

Now let me rewind to a similar incident that took place a few months earlier when my ex-maid was working. A major cribber, she found fault with everything in my house. “Your kids are too rowdy, they are always throwing away their toys”, “My earlier employer had a neat house, I hardly had to do anything” and so on. Not being used to being reprimanded by my maid, I was shocked by her attitude. It was her job, and I had clearly stated her job description before employing her, why then was she creating such a fuss over the work she willingly took up? Strangely enough she was not willing to quit the job either.  After few months of a very uncomfortable employer employee relationship, she suddenly demanded a salary hike hinting at the fact that her lack luster performance was due to her dis-satisfaction with the salary. I politely declined her offer and showed her the door. Asking for a salary hike is OK but there is a way to do that. You cannot justify your below average performance by accusing your employer of not paying you enough, especially when you have discussed and agreed upon the salary beforehand.

I believe that no work on earth is beneath us, we all do what we can do. Just because I aspired to be a CEO of a company, I cannot be disinterested in my humble work as a Software engineer or a Technical Writer. I need to give the respect due to my profession and I have to do that work with utmost dedication almost bordering on devotion.  Being a citizen of Gandhi’s nation I wholeheartedly believe in his opinion that “Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.”

That said, let’s compare the two scenarios:

  1. First one proves herself worthy of a raise. Asserts herself without fearing the consequences or doubting her employer. Asks for her rights, politely and respectfully.
  2. Second one neither shows interest in her work, nor proves her worth. Cribs and insults the employer. Demands a raise assuming that the employer has no other option but to give in to her demands.

What are your top take-away points from these two stories? I would like you to pitch in and state your take away. Meanwhile I’ll state mine:Read More »2 Workplace behavior tips I picked up from my maid

3 must do’s before you decide to quit your job or your career!

The major source of discontentment in today’s job scenario is:

  • Not knowing what you want
  • Not prioritizing the things you want
  • Being complacent towards achieving what you want

I get inspired when I meet the rare person who is happy with the job he is in. He does his job with total dedication, he gets the pay he thinks he deserves and he is in a position he thinks he should be in. The one thing I ask such a person is: “What’s your secret?“, almost always the answer is: ‘Passion and Contentment‘.

Contentment is a virtue.  It is very hard to be content in today’s world. Contentment is not a natural state. Like meditation you need to practice it. Does contentment mean you have to stop having ambitions? Does it mean you stop trying to achieve? No, it just means you need to give a logical pause between each achievement to retrospect. How else will you realize how much you have achieved and how much more you can achieve?

Note: Failure is also a pause albeit a literal one.Very hard to ignore, unlike contentment, but equally necessary for growth.

Contentment is like the period in a sentence. It makes the statements of your life precise and meaningful. It lets you know when to stop something and when to begin something. It lets you know when something has reached its logical conclusion. A person who is content always tries to see the positives of any situation and tries to get the best out of it.

On that note, lets proceed to the : ” 3 Must-dos before you even think of  quitting your job or your career”

Read More »3 must do’s before you decide to quit your job or your career!