Professionalism as a pipe dream

What lies beneath the high turnover rates in many corporates today

April 15, 2018 12:15 am | Updated 02:02 pm IST

Women cannot be good bosses. Or, they remain bosses, can never be leaders.

For as long as I can remember, this is one inveterate opinion that has been held by some of my family members, friends and colleagues. I would not say the woman in me gets enraged at this thinking that reeks of stereotypes, but I certainly ignore it. Most definitely, I did not carry it with me as I made my way through my first corporate experience at one of the pharmaceutical giants of India. After all, I already had been doled out sordid narratives of the corporate world and wisdom nuggets on how to survive the cruelty thereof.

On my first day at the headquarters, my reporting manager was absent – not that I was complaining, but that meant I spent time knowing my team member and interacting with the vice-president of corporate communications. Interestingly, our bodies have a way of sniffing the impending as signified by how I fell ill of food poisoning and had to miss the following day of work. That meant another halt in finally striking a meeting with my reporting manager. Nothing memorable really – she was as unwelcoming to me on Day 3 as was my team member on Day 1.

The following days unfolded in learning to work on my archaic desktop that ran on some version of an operating system older than humanity. The mouse, much like an errant child, would oblige after multiple clicks. Contrary to the degree of the mouse’s responsiveness, my repeated requests for a laptop allocation to my manager and vice-president never met with success. It was not long before going to work indicated heading for a buffet meal. There was an underlying promise of pure delight ahead (read: interesting projects, good name on your resumé, expectation of professionalism) but alas! I was left to fend for myself. A buffet meal in an ergonomically inefficient ambience? Not something one would look forward to.

A newly married bride had entered this dysfunctional family. At the helm of affairs was the mother-in-law who was otherwise a tinderbox. But defying popular belief, she was sweet to the bride (Only initially, though, and why not? She herself had “approved” the “girl” during the interview process). The immediate echelon below was occupied by the unity-hating elder daughter-in- law. The rest of the team members were inconsequential, considering the absence of good team dynamics.

A typical episode of this saga naturally cast a spotlight on the newest member of the family. She was expected to undertake responsibilities while remaining coy. Meanwhile the other two women in command assumed the launch of a fault-finding mission. Micro-management, over-controlling, blame-games, biases and personal remarks quickly became commonplace and the new bride was never as good as even her last performance.

It all began when the mother-in-law started favouring the new bride for every task big and small, leaving the elder daughter-in-law to burst at the seams of insecurity. Eager to retaliate, she rebounded her 10-year-old tacit agreement with the mother-in-law, herself a veteran in the household for 22 years, to misuse their authority.

It is also worth introducing at this stage the powerless but equally insecure father-in-law. His prime interest lay in maintaining the unsaid partnership between himself and the elder daughter-in-law. “You scratch my back and I will scratch yours,” in the wake of the bride’s entry, became the clear clause of this partnership.

As much daily soap-like the situation was, the discord grew equally stronger. “Right now, it is your honeymoon period at work,” is how my manager taunted me in the very first week when beyond official working hours I left for home without knowing that I was to take permission from her. I was left confused at whether the remark was an implicit warning or a reminder of my veritable probation period. Strangely enough, hasn’t she attested the analogy I presented above? In any case the forced alliance finally ended. Fortunately, though, I never considered the job as my husband.

My purpose is not to malign the company. I certainly do not subscribe to the view that women can’t be good bosses. However, my experience is a testament to the multiple studies that have concluded that employees don’t leave organisations, they leave managers. During my short stint at my now former workplace, several senior colleagues shared how the trend of a high turnover amongst the young brigade was all-pervasive across the organisation.

More often than not, there was a complaining tinge in their tones. In an organisation that is already so heavily people-driven, an employee (especially a millennial) is bound to feel but harassed. Further, if managers’ attempt’ to hermetically seal the team members’ social circle to toe the department’s silo mentality, it is a recipe for disaster; an ultimate litmus test to high turnover rate. Based on similar experiences that people around me have encountered, I am compelled to believe that is the case with several Indian corporates. Until then, professionalism inevitably remains a pipe dream.

jagnaniaanchal@gmail.com

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