That boss who overworks you cares for your career

Should I quit? PHOTO | BD GRAPHIC 

By DR FRANK NJENGA

In Summary

• If you look at work in your stage of development purely as a place to make more money, then you have the wrong end of the stick.

I am ambitious and my boss knows it. But I feel that she is taking advantage of me. She is pushing me to do work meant for two people to get me to achieve my ever-expanding ambitions. A few other people who work here feel this tension. I feel like she is pushing me to do more for less money. Should I quit?

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If you had told us how old you are, then the answer to your question would have been easy. If for example you are in your 50s or early 60s and are about to retire from a job you have done for the past 35 years, then you have my full sympathy. It is just possible that the boss is pushing you too hard.

The elderly must be treated with respect and caution. You have worked well and must look forward to your days in retirement.

If on the other hand you are 24, have just left university with a Masters degree in economics and are now doing your final part of CPA exams, then your boss is doing you a favour and you must thank her for looking after your long-term interests.

At that young age, hard work (and a little play) is what is to be expected. If you look at work in your stage of development purely as a place to make more money, then you have the wrong end of the stick.

Having a job that you enjoy and that is in line with your long term objectives is a privilege. Thank your boss at once for recognising your potential.

You tell us you are ambitious. Unless your ambition is mediocre, nothing good will come your way unless you are prepared to burn the midnight oil. There are at least another 10,000 hours before you can be a real professional.

You worry me a little when you tell us that your boss is pushing you to do more for less money. At your age, is it only money that drives you? Do you not see the opportunity she is giving you by driving you to the limits of your endurance? Think again.

For as long as man shall live, the elders of the day will continue to complain about the generation of their children and grandchildren.

For us, when we focus on people like you we fail to understand why you are so lazy and ungrateful. We see the way you spend your youthful time and money on useless pursuits.

When you are not watching the Premier League or Rugby World Cup, you are discussing cars and girls. The girls spend their time either drinking or moaning of the fact that the men are immature and spend too much time with their mothers and have no time to think about the future.

The men are frustrated, the women are angry and their parents confused.

The parents look at the time and money they spent educating their sons/daughters and bemoan the fact that they had to sell land and animals to send them to university for them to complain about too much work. What a lazy lot!

Before you moan or groan about hard work at the office, remember the story of the person who was estranged from God because he did not have shoes. It is only when he saw a person without feet that he realised how lucky he was.

As you grow older, you look back at the challenges and opportunities you came across in life. Towards one’s retirement one looks back at his classmates in primary and secondary school. By the age of 60, the majority of your classmates have fallen by the wayside. Some died in abject poverty, others died opulent but miserable while others are in poor physical and mental health.

The medical profession is a good case study in this respect. Soon after Independence a group of young men died in quick succession. Most had just graduated from Makerere University and represented the cream of the cream of Kenyan society.

Though not confirmed, most died due to alcohol-related complications. Speculation has it that the colonial government treated them badly upon their return as doctors and hence heavy drinking and death.

The first crop of brilliant men in Kenya died because of the harsh work environment they faced. Their white colleagues treated them like junior nurses, sometimes being ordered around by colonial day matrons.

The jury is still out on the cause of death of these doctors, but the subject of occupational health and wellbeing of workers is clearly brought into focus by your question today.

Depending on your age, and the stage of your career development, the boss can be seen as being unfair or far sighted and caring of your future.