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The Brain Game: Shirkers vs Workers

While the brain of hard workers is trained to start ticking as soon as they are assigned a task, the brain of the shirkers is trained to find an excuse and escape the load, states Enakshi. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Work is worship but that’s half-baked truth, for work can only be worshipped when the approach to work is ethical and earnest. It is said that one should do the hard jobs first because the easy jobs then take care of themselves. Isn’t it all about hard work? You work hard, burn the midnight oil, go the extra mile and the fruit of success is what you get in the end! But do all of us believe in this philosophy? No. The evolution of mankind has been rapid as that is the need of the hour. Evolution has aided mankind to conquer everything and get things done at one’s beck and call. People all over the world are becoming independent and are focusing more on overall well-being. But then there are people to whom it doesn’t matter a jot whether or not they are using their time on Earth productively. 

Everyone desires to find a place beside the Gods in heaven but when it comes to working and making a life for themselves, they shy away from taking the route that offers roadblocks and problems. I have come across so many people who are mere ‘shirkers’. When it comes to working the fingers to the bone, such people find excuses and exit the battlefield.

While the millennial throng is often blamed for their callous attitude towards everything, the people who prefer not being called ‘Millennials’ are no different. Everyone desires to find a place beside the Gods in heaven but when it comes to working and making a life for themselves, they shy away from taking the route that offers roadblocks and problems. I have come across so many people who are mere ‘shirkers’. When it comes to working the fingers to the bone, such people find excuses and exit the battlefield. But when it comes to collecting praises in their kitty, they step forward without a hint of hesitation. Sometimes I feel like stepping forward with them and applauding their audacity! But the walk of shame scares the daylights out of me!

Shirkers or loafers or idlers or layabouts – whichever word we use – all words mean the same. A shirker is a person who evades work, responsibility or duty. The chief characteristic of a shirker is that he/she is a procrastinator. Finding excuses, blamestorming, snoozing alarms, frequent tea breaks, gossiping with anyone and everyone, being a blabbermouth – all these traits are common to a shirker. Such people are not easy to identify, for their true self is only projected once you spend some significant time with them. While the brain of hard workers is trained to start ticking as soon as they are assigned a task, the brain of the shirkers is trained to find an excuse and escape the load. One would quote Bill Gates at this point saying that it is always a better choice to hire a lazy person for a difficult job as that person will find an easier and faster way. What if the person isn’t interested in finding a way at all? Amidst the Corona scare, so many of my acquaintances have been finding it difficult to make the ends meet as their salaries have either been deducted or they have been given the pink slip. But then there are a few known ones who have resigned from their jobs because they were ‘bored’ or because there was ‘too much work’. I won’t call myself orthodox or stereotypical. I would rather call myself practical because leaving a job at this point of time is one of the worst decisions (unless there is a need or a valid reason). Such is the way how a shirker’s mind works!

Probably the brains are wired that way! While the workers believe in working and achieving, shirkers believe in evading and achieving. The problem is with the workers, for the workers find it all the more difficult to air the dirty laundry owing to the ethical constraints! In my workplace too, I have many shirkers who brag a lot but when they have to get down to work, they push the load onto someone else’s shoulders.

Probably the brains are wired that way! While the workers believe in working and achieving, shirkers believe in evading and achieving. The problem is with the workers, for the workers find it all the more difficult to air the dirty laundry owing to the ethical constraints! In my workplace too, I have many shirkers who brag a lot but when they have to get down to work, they push the load onto someone else’s shoulders. Just recently, one of my colleagues genially transferred the task of preparing a presentation (that was obviously assigned to her) to me because according to her, I am ‘tech-savvy’! I didn’t know that knowing more about computers or technology makes me ‘tech-savvy’! Then there are some who find an excuse of time, money, family and whatnot to avoid work! The strangest of them all are the ones who are so blunt and straightforward when it comes to lying. Just when they get bored of talking to you over the phone, they say they would call back after some time and they never call back again unless they need you again!

Brag alert!! PC: Anumita C Roy

Such are the ways of the world. All world’s a stage. Every person has an act to put up. While some of us forget the difference between an act and real-life scene, others pretend that their life is a blockbuster. For the latter, shortcuts and ethics don’t go hand-in-hand! But I still wonder how success finds a way into their home! What does Karma do when such people are busy playing games with Karma? Why doesn’t God make them learn the lesson? Does God exist? Does being a ‘worker’ make you a half-wit? And the questions never cease to trouble my already troubled mind!

Visuals by Different Truths

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Enakshi J
Enakshi is an educator, an author and a traveller. She loves to learn. Her writings have appeared in The Speaking Tree (Times of India), Woman’s Era, Alive, Infitithoughts, SivanaSpirit, Women’s Web, EfictionIndia and Induswomanwriting. She is an eminent book reviewer and she reviews books by Penguin, Rupa and Hachette India. Her stories and poems have been anthologised widely. She conceptualized two books- ‘Unbounded Trajectories’ and ‘Poison Ivy’.

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