Two decades ago, I asked a UP Police constable, “What are your work hours?”
He said, “We don’t have work hours. I may get guard duty on a train for two days. When that is over, I get assigned to some other duty for the next day. And so on.”
A bit perplexed, I asked, “But even if you are on ‘train guard duty,’ how many hours do you work? You surely can’t be on duty all the time!”
He said, “No, you ARE on duty round the clock.”
No wonder, I used to see so much indiscipline in the police force — I would often notice ill-dressed policemen, mixing khaki with civilian clothes, sometimes playing cards in front of police stations.
When you ask people to do the impossible, you can’t enforce it.
Also, when people work inhumanly long hours, they become chronically tired, sleep-deprived, and irritable. I am not saying this is the only reason for police brutality, indiscipline, and poor morale, but it most certainly aggravates the problem.
When people are worked to the bone, they are resentful and angry. Yes, if you pay them a lot of money, they may not openly say anything — but their aggression will come out somewhere, if only to their subordinates.
Inhuman working conditions breed inhuman behavior.
I believe in hard work, being ambitious, and pushing the boundaries. But insanity at work is not going to get you there. And even if it gets you there, e.g., if you run a manufacturing sweatshop, do you want to do that?
In most knowledge work, optimal outcome requires three things:
1. Focus.
2. Clear prioritization.
3. Minimizing interruptions and waste.
Try doing the above. Alternatively, you can work 16 hours a day.
PS: My suggestion for 16 hrs a day was sarcasm, not a recommendation 🙂
– Rajan