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ShareBanglore: Public justice and private happiness need not be mutually exclusive, Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, Vice-President, Stanton Chase International says. Companies are more open to accommodating their employees' needs outside the workplace and the latter should use it to up their happiness quotient, she feels
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal prefers to call herself search consultant. As someone in-charge of recruitment, she says she actually facilitates diversity in workplaces. Priya plays multiple roles in various business groups and works passionately in the area of business leadership among women.
Women at the workplace
If a company doesn't make it easy for a woman with responsibilities to come into the workplace, all it is doing is sabotaging the economy, says Priya. Sensitising companies, management and women themselves about what needs to be done is a very important part. That is how we can remove inequities. "Don't ever take away the base which is sound economics," she stresses. The market has changed completely and workplaces have to keep up with the change, encourage diversity.
Quality managers born here
Organisations have become flatter, they are dealing with multiplicity of cultures and companies have become more savvy in doing business and the business itself has become very global. "Quality of leadership has gone up because you are not insular. You are very outward looking." Indian managers are doing well world over as they are superior quality professionals, Priya says. "We are importing a lot of Indian managers overseas and the quality of work they are doing is excellent," she adds.
More companies are striving for the global standard and it's not a bad word. "It does not mean being westernised. It means being global. Today, the hub, the influence is shifting to India. Global is not a bad word.
Take pride in your power
"The easiest way to give up power is by assuming you have none," Priya quotes Alice Walker. A lot of us assume that. But that's changing now, she says admitting that she herself never felt powerful and still has trouble saying the word. "I might say I am empowered. I don't think we like the word power." But everyone is powerful in their ability to make a difference, in the ability to influence. Women need to accept it more than men as they are very good at stepping back. Accepting it gives you a complete edge.
Unlike the previous generation that undersold itself, Gen Y is a little more comfortable putting their needs in the package, too. Accept that you have the power and work with the power in a positive way.
Priya has some advice for women who constantly feel guilty about not giving enough to family and their careers -- you have to learn to network, you have to learn to mentor yourself and other people, you have to learn to give back to the others. But she is positive that things will improve as we go along. "There will be less moaning and groaning, there will be a lot of collaboration and collective effort."
"If one is heard talking about feminism or women's empowerment, people assume that you must hate men," Priya says. People also feel that if you are doing one thing, you can't do the other, that things are mutually exclusive. That isn't true. "The pie just gets larger," she says mentioning the one thing she is extremely politically correct about -- "Male bashing is completely not allowed." Why would you run down your biggest partner, she asks. Women have to work with men to take ownership of the situation that they are in; otherwise there will always be two camps, each one taking potshots at the other.
Companies should be supportive
"If you have interests that take away from your performance, you have a problem. Otherwise you are ok," Priya says. Presenteeism is a very horrendous thing that is meant for the world. That is not what it is about today. Companies have to learn to let go to make people more goal oriented, more focused. An organisation that respects your work, your time would be attracting talented people. Managers have to monitor the end result, not get into micro management. Google supports its people and that is why they have the people who come up with the ideas they do. Eventually, again, it's all about business.
