Hemantha Kalam - 51 'Labours of the NSE'

At the outset I have to confess that this blog is not at all about me as presently I am occupied quite well but this is for many of the ‘NSE’s whom I am acquainted with. I also have to mention with happiness that things are changing in the country though not with the rapidity that is desired, especially by the ‘NSE’s. Okay here goes and if any of you feel zipped and let down please do pardon me for the pun.

What is the retiring age in India for an employee? 60years? 58years? Or 38 years? While the generally accepted retired age is 58 years and above, the present trend in the country, as reflected in most of the appointment advertisements, in the past few years (preferring candidates of not more than 38 years of age), seems to point at 38 years as the retiring age for normal mid level employment.

Certainly, the criteria, for choosing an employee, are the prerogatives of the employers in a highly skewed employment scene. But what about the “not so elderly (NSE)” persons who are forced to seek employment after 38 or even 58 for multi-various reasons? Does this mean that persons above 38 are redundant and useless?

If a person is, say, about 45 years of age today, one has to say that in his / her prime age the game rules were different. The education system, the employment system, the promotion system and most importantly the salary packages, were all totally different comparing to what they are today. There were different levels or grades at the employment level and even if you are under qualified or over qualified you were ensured of a particular salary quantum, applicable to that particular grade or level one was employed at. Unlike today, then the bargaining system, at the entry point, was almost unheard of. This has resulted in an average person getting a decent salary, out of which, after commitments, perhaps a small amount could be saved.

Now assuming that the same person is without a job at the age of 45 and is seeking re-employment with about 20 years or more experience, the task becomes Herculean. And how long will his meagre savings last, that too with the interest rates, on savings, falling steeply at regular intervals?

Not all the people, seeking jobs at this late stage of their age, are lucky enough to get a golden handshake or Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) benefits. In many cases, the employers find out or simulate a situation to find fault with the employee so that s/he can be packed off without any benefits except the statutory / mandated ones. It becomes a virtual shake-off. 

This person may have dependents like aged parents needing medical help, children at various levels of education or children of marriageable age, the house and vehicle loan equated monthly instalments (EMIs) to be paid for. If there are also credit card borrowings to boot, one can just imagine the plight.

And, adding to all these, is that there is no way he could have escaped taxation since all his income had been on paper. These are the circumstances, which force a NSE to seek a decent job, which can suit her/his financial requirements, at least to some extent, where s/he can use her/his skills with dignity and respect while certainly being useful to the organization too.

The first step one takes, while searching for a job, is to respond to the employment advertisements, either in the print media or on the inter-net, which anyway are thinning in general, where referrals are sought after (during our times, being referred / recommended itself was a disqualification and matter of loss of face among the peers). The next step is to approach the placement consultants. 99% of the time, the placement consultants’ opening gambit is “well, your resume is extremely impressive and we are sure that you will be an asset to an organisation. But we have to be frank. It is your age that matters, since there are not many takers. But let us see how we can help you.” With these words, one is very sweetly brushed off.

Yes, some of these 'NSE's might have health problems, but certainly not all. With so many becoming health buffs today, the health rate of these 'NSE's need not be an alarming factor. And, the prospective employers may stipulate a condition on good health, before hiring their services.

Is it all hunky dory with the organizations, which seek only young talent? Well, it need not necessarily be. In some cases, there could have been exceptional results, but in several cases, the youth hired may not have the required maturity for strategising. So is the case with foresight and sometimes hindsight too. Keeping this in mind, the organizations may think of hiring the services of the youth for executive positions and the experienced 'NSE's, for the planning and strategic positions, creating opportunities for both strata of people working as a team for the benefit of the organization. Mentoring and Training are excellent areas to choose NSEs, depending on the aptitude and field of experience the NSEs have.

But what is more alarming is the paradigm shift in the employers’ mind about their employees. There are bosses who consider that any employee, working under them continuously for more than three years, as a commodity which does not have a market. Gone are the days when the employers were happy with long standing loyalty etc. Sure, there are still employers who insist on steady persons, than jumping jacks or rolling stones. But such employers are steadily becoming a minority in the job market.

Such situations drive these 'NSE's to either become consultants (read ‘doing mostly nothing’) or take  jobs with organisations where salary levels are drastically lower or organizations whose credentials are not either proven or known, and in some cases resulting in erratic disbursement of salaries, if at all. As a silver line to the dark clouds, the insurance companies are providing employment by way of insurance / wealth advisers. Some of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units, thankfully, are also hiring the services of these 'NSE's as Customer Service Officers or as Centre Trainers for imparting soft skills. But most of these BPOs are confined to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and a few in Chennai. So for people in other places the problem of re-employment persists.

When a nation could be governed by septuagenarians and octogenarians, for more than half-a-century, due to their intelligence and leadership qualities (sometimes despite those too but for brute force), enabling the country to surge ahead, even the private sector companies could benefit by considering the employment of 'NSE's who are mostly of half the leaders’ age. 

Here age alone need not be the criteria. It is the experience and also past responsibilities, performance and achievements that could be considered. Times are so rapidly changing that newer modes of working patterns emerge. I undertake foreign assignments like desk reviews sitting in a corner of my room in Chennai, India. I have been teaching for over four years without seeing a single student physically. And yes, I am a NSE (well in fact, I am as young as just a 25 :-) ).

But in this dog eat dog competitive world, 'NSE's also will have to augment their existing skills or acquire new skills like languages, technology, different professions and keep learning continuously. They have to constantly upgrade and keep reinventing themselves. There is a wealth of knowledge at the disposal of the youth; waiting to be disseminated. Making them teach would also prove the mettle of marketing and relationship building for the 'NSE's, many of whom, quite poor in those areas.

But with both the public and private sectors shunning them, should the 'NSE's continue their labour for re-employment, so that they could hope to lead the rest of their expected lifetime reasonably comfortably and with dignity? What do you think? Pray tell me!

Till then, 

Krutagjnatalu (Telugu), Nanri (Tamil), Dhanyavaadagalu (Kannada), Nanni (Malayalam), Dhanyavaad (Hindi), Dhanyosmi (Sanskrit), Thanks (English), Dhonyavaad (Bangla), Dhanyabad (Oriya and Nepalese), Gracias (Spanish), Grazie (Italian), Danke Schon (Deutsche), Merci (French), Obrigado (Portuguese), Shukraan (Arabic and Sudanese), Shukriya (Urdu), Bohoma Sthuthiyi (Sinhalese) Aw-koon (Khmer), Kawp Jai Lhai Lhai (Laotian), Kob Kun Krab (Thai), Asante (Kiswahili), Maraming Salamat sa Lahat (Pinoy-Tagalog-Filipino), Tack (Swedish), Fa'afetai (Samoan), Terima Kasih (Bahasa Indonesian) and Tenkyu (Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea), Malo (Tongan), Vinaka Vaka Levu (Fijian)

Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy

Chennai, India