The Mauritian Attitude to Work

1. Introduction


1.1. There is considerable talk these days about the need for Mauritians to work harder so as to get the country out of the morass in which it finds itself. This article posits the view that while other factors – e.g., foreign direct investment - are important , we need to seriously re-visit our attitude to work if we aspire for a better future for the coming generations.


1.2. The aim of this article is to examine issues surrounding the Mauritian attitude to work or avoidance of work, and some of the factors contributing to the unwillingness or inability to work hard.


1.3. Attitude to work has a moral dimension and is related to the concept of work ethic. Wikipedia (http://www.answers.com/topic/work-ethic) defines ‘work ethic’ as “a set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character...A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative or maintaining social skills.”


1.4. Some have tried to attribute the negative attitude to work or failing work ethic to salary differentials. Others opine that it has been caused by the severe alienation brought about by capitalist production methods. While some of these views may be founded, there is a need to reflect on factors relating to the way many Mauritians view work that are more within our control and seriously do something about them.


2. The Need to work


2.1. The need to work hard goes beyond contributing to personal and national wealth characterized by a strong currency and low inflation rate. It ensures a better quality of life for our family and ultimately a better society – a society characterized by quality social services (health, education etc) and one that can afford to maintain a quality environment for all to enjoy. The unwillingness to work hard would get us into a vicious cycle of deprivation (due to a weak currency, high inflation, and rising prices), poor social services and badly maintained infrastructure.


2.2. From an existential point of view, honest work contributes to our sense of dignity, to the meaning we attribute to our existence and to life in general. This goes beyond the sheer need to work for survival. It is true that repetitive meaningless work on an assembly line would appear to contradict this. On the other hand, it can all be a matter of perception. This is reminiscent of the story of the stone breaker who when asked about what he is doing, replies that he is constructing a cathedral. Some of us are able to see the big picture and our role in it. The choice between merely breaking stones and building a cathedral would seem to rest on us

2.3. We can always cite the widening gap between the rich and the poor to justify the current attitude to work. However, this social injustice has always prevailed. It did not prevent the previous generations from working hard and bequeathing us the comforts we now enjoy. It would be difficult to say whether they were less happy than we are today.


3. Historical factors


3.1. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com), ‘travailler’ comes from the vulgar Latin word ‘tripaliare’ which means "to torture," from ‘tripalium’ - "instrument of torture". Labour comes from the Latin ‘labor’ which means "toil, pain, exertion, fatigue, work". It is thus not surprising that ‘labour’ is also used to refer to the physical exertions of childbirth.


3.2. Etymologically speaking, it would thus appear that work has nothing pleasant and yet there are still people (even though they would constitute a shrinking minority) who derive pride and satisfaction from a job well done, like those who feel happier with themselves after a workout session at the gym.


3.3. There is no doubt that the previous generations worked very hard to get the country where it is today but in the process they had a dream – they hoped that by ensuring that their children get a proper education, the latter would not have to work as hard. It would appear that they have somehow passed on this aspiration for an easy and comfortable life to the younger generations.


3.4. We have reached a stage where working hard is no longer something to be proud of. In fact in a strange reversal of values, the norm is not to work even while many aspire to succeed and become rich in the shortest possible time. Many students actually hide the fact that they work hard. Some even go to the extreme of actually misbehaving in their endeavour to camouflage the efforts they are putting in.


4. Performance does not count


4.1. Many Mauritian office workers in both private and public sectors (some of whom earn more than Rs35,000 per month) work for less than 30 to 35 hours per week even though according to the Labour Act a normal working week consists of 45 hours of work. If these people actually worked even during these limited hours, there would have been no cause for concern. This is unfortunately not the case in many organizations.


4.2. To make matters worse, many organizations are overstaffed sometimes because of ineffective management and sometimes because of external interference. This overstaffing results in an underutilization of existing resources or in a situation where those who are prepared to work hard are either discouraged from doing so, or are ‘demotivated’ by seeing their more fortunate colleagues get away with doing next to nothing or even get promoted because they have close ties to certain political or socio-religious organizations, for instance.


4.3. Protégés often tend to view their appointment as an entitlement or a reward for past efforts (e.g., during election campaigns) and not as a responsibility to add value in any way. Any attempt to sanction these protégés is met by swift intervention from the concerned protector.


5. Overtime abuse


5.1. A flagrant abuse of overtime prevails in many organizations especially in those where the pressure to manage costs is less stringent. Some employees have become expert in ensuring that much of the work that needs to be done takes place outside ‘normal’ working hours and at creating bottlenecks and situations where overtime work turns out to be the only way to avoid a major crisis.

5.2. In some organizations, the senior officers who are supposed to manage costs are also entitled to overtime pay. To expect them to control overtime would be like expecting your cat to keep an eye on your milk.


5.3. In organizations where there is an emphasis on variable pay (e.g., commissions), one is often confronted with situations where one wonders whether the basic salary is paid for simply being present while actual work is paid for by the commission. Some people expect to be paid extra, not for going beyond the call of duty but for simply doing what they are already paid to do.

5.4. A parallel situation would be that of many teachers who do not do what they are paid to do during normal school hours and thus create an artificial need for private tuition. It is in fact tragic that younger generations are being unconsciously conditioned by this negative attitude to work at a time in their life when they are the most vulnerable.



6. Qualifications

6.1. Almost in response to the aspirations of the previous generations, many today have fallen into the qualification inflation trap to the extent that they have succumbed to the illusion that academic certificates, and not the process through which we obtain them and what we do after obtaining them, are all that count.

6.2. Many who have accumulated academic certificates by adopting convenient shortcuts are understandably frustrated when the certificates turn out to be worthless pieces of paper. What they have failed to realise is that the process is as important as the result and that the application of learning is often more important than the sheer acquisition of knowledge. In fact this dependence on shortcuts belies the old assumption that qualifications are a proof, or a prediction, of competence and hard work.



7. Culture of entitlement


7.1. The culture of entitlement is, one where people, in this case employees, believe that the organization owes them something and they do not have to earn what they receive. These people believe they are owed something because of who they are or what ethnic group they belong to or some similar distorted logic.

7.2. An organization characterized by a culture of entitlement (as opposed to a culture of merit) would be one, for instance, where employees expect promotions based on tenure, not track record, or one where they believe they are ‘entitled’ to fat bonuses regardless of past performance. Sometimes managers unwittingly pander to these expectations partly because, like politicians, they choose to be popular rather than hold employees accountable for results.



8. Culture of mediocrity


8.1. Political and/or narrow sectarian concerns often result in the less competent candidates being selected for important posts. These sometimes have to be propped by an army of advisors, some of whom would be equally incompetent. The end result however is a culture of mediocrity where only lip service is paid to merit in spite of all the prevailing rhetoric. This often leads to situations where competent people are not given the space to express themselves and give the best of what they are capable of. Some end up imitating their mediocre colleagues, others resign to join organizations where the culture of merit prevails, and others still emigrate.


8.2. In fact, competent Mauritians are often professionally happier when they emigrate or when they report to expatriates (except when these expatriate managers desperately cling to their position and are too insecure to allow their local counterparts space to realise their potential). Expatriates are also often free from the local sectarian concerns.


9. Intellectual dishonesty


9.1. The culture of mediocrity results in situations where people report to ‘superiors’ who are far less competent than them. The situation becomes more difficult to bear because of rampant intellectual dishonesty where the superiors insist on taking credit for the work done by their subordinates and ensure that the latter always remain unknown. They sometimes go to the extent of shamelessly plagiarizing, or simply claiming to be authors of, documents written by their more talented subordinates.


10. Ineffective management


10.1. While we may go on analyzing why some employees do not work for the salary they are paid, we cannot deny the fact that it often boils down to management. Ineffective and weak managers who lack character end up dancing to the tune chosen by their staff or use a divide and rule policy in order to exercise whatever little influence they have. They sometimes base their selection decisions not on competence but on sectarian concerns because they thrive on personal loyalty rather than expertise.


10.2. Many aspire to senior positions in organizations partly because of the status and the package of benefits associated with the posts and partly because they believe that these management posts would imply less work. Very few actually ask themselves whether they have what it takes to lead and manage others, and ensure that they all add value. In fact in the prevailing culture of entitlement these management posts are often seen as rewards for the years spent in the organization without any consideration of actual contribution during this tenure.


10.3. Policy makers often condone this ineffective management. When it was found, for instance, that written tasks (essays etc) were being neglected by many primary school teachers, the obvious solution would have been to set up proper monitoring systems to ensure that the tasks get done. Instead, someone came up with the ‘bright’ idea of increasing the competitive pressure (enough has been written about A+) as an indirect way to ensure that teachers do what they are paid to do in the first place.


10.4. A lot of the resentment about work in the EPZ or BPO sectors has to do with the rigorous management and control where every individual’s productivity is measured and tracked. For those who are not prepared to work for their salary this can be very stressful.


11. Conclusion


11.1. The picture painted by this article is admittedly bleak to say the least. It is possible that this Mauritian work ethic (or rather the absence of a work ethic) is partly responsible for our current economic situation. The few exceptions – fortunately they do exist – will not suffice to extricate the country from the current quagmire.


11.2. There has been a deliberate attempt to avoid the cliché of private / public sector comparisons because the work ethic problem prevails in both types of organizations though there may be a difference in degree.


11.3. It is however hoped that this article would foster the required debate and reflection. In fact acknowledging that we are partly responsible is a sine qua non condition for progress, since we would also know that we are the ones that would need to do things differently if we are to aspire for a better tomorrow.


11.4. We shall reap what we sow and we would not be able to blame any one else for it. The choice of the kind of life we want to live and of the kind of society we want is ours. If hard work is distasteful to some, it is probably a bitter pill we have to swallow if we want to get better. The alternative is much worse…



September 1, 2006