The Crisis of Identity

It is amazing how your work defines you. It identifies you. You are what you are because of a job. In today’s world you are reduced to a nobody if you do not have a job. When you meet someone for the first time the most obvious question is: "What do you do for a living?" It is a different matter, that we sort of traffic our time and talent, to put food on the table. You are what your trade is. You also begin to have a love hate relationship with your work.

When you are employed you feel invincible on the job. You feel as if your employers are damn lucky to have you. You tell the world what you do with a lot of zest and arrogance. You confidently spend your salary. You compel and bind yourself for years of high interest EMI payments with nary a thought and perhaps even with a bit of smugness! You no longer think, what if your job blows away. You start thinking that leisure should be given more importance. Since you have satisfied your most basic needs, now you strive after freedom.

When you had a job you did not fear that employment could have evaporated any day. When your job’s gone, leisure and freedom does not look too important then. You are then left to fend for yourself. It is you who have to pay all your bills. There is a loss of career. A career, that you spent years nurturing. Now suddenly you seemed to have lost your identity. You feel your self respect has been stubbed out and your value has gone down. Now you feel you have no place to go five days a week. You have nothing to produce. You have no service to provide. And your identity has vanished. This was because you had always put your value and your existence with the work that you do. Without work you are reduced to a non entity. It is as if ‘no work – no existence’ kind of a syndrome. All your education did was it gave you a passport so that you can find an identity in your work place,(earn and spend).

It is startling to learn how important work is in your life. The salary is deposited in your bank, i.e., “you get”. Then you “spend”. Same old story: “Getting and Spending.” You don’t remember where the money went. But you remember all of your jobs. Maybe the dates get a bit of trimming as far as your Curriculum-Vitae is concerned. But your customers, bosses, colleagues and juniors are all etched in your mind. Your life becomes attached with the goods being manufactured somewhere, shipped somewhere else, warehoused, and shipped finally to where the consumer has the opportunity to buy them. Apart from this there is no life for you. In fact you have never known life beyond this.

Can't blame you - After all your father did not leave you with a 1,000 crore in your bank.

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