Is Decency a Weakness?

Being brought up with an aptitude for hard work and taught to move with people in a smooth way with fewer unnecessary words, gets us to a good position in life; but it is not without the negative connotations. These qualities though an asset initially in a career ,could really end up being a burden with time.

Once the benchmark is set for your ability , the peak of your performance rather than the median of your range is expected more than often, which is impossible , a lot of times. And the people concerned , tend to think of only extracting the maximum work from the ones who have shouldered it before. And the ones , who set a pace for themselves, probably even restricting themselves consciously , do not face much trouble , as less is expected of them. It also does not help if you have colleagues who are not as willing to help , as much as they would like others to help them. Add to that a management that is only concerned at swelling their own pockets , with no concern whatsoever for the staff, there builds a recipe for an excellent" stress soup" at the workplace.

Being decent and professional enough , not to avoid / procrastinate the work given , most often lets people presume it as a weakness. The inability to say' no' out of self inflicted moral responsibility is again a factor, that gets one into trouble sooner than later. One might have done the extra work , considering the situation , in spite of compromising on personal space , for the first few times. You are not sure to get complimented for that , but the first time you refuse to take that extra responsibility , for purely personal reasons , it gets misconstrued as that the person has become too big for the boots . The one who shirks that added responsibility from the beginning , seems a better off at the same point of time , as that is taken as his nature.

Obliging every request also becomes an expected norm , once you begin to do that frequently and people take you for granted. Its not just the workplace , it happens everywhere- relatives , friends , public departments , people you hire for work , even within the families- decency being taken for weakness .

One is more often likely to see the 'voice'y types get on with lesser stuff, than the docile types. But does that mean all those being decent and gentle should change overnight into obdurate , argumentative types ? Most probably not , as there is a big account being kept in a super computer up above, that He keeps and takes everything into account . So it would be ideal to strike the middle path , saying no when needed "firmly and politely " , that the ones across get the right signal that- decency is not a weakness !