Earning - A Must Skill

A decade ago, I was in a tricky situation where I had to take a break in professional life for personal priorities. My husband being an entrepreneur having multiple responsibilities, it was naturally my orientation to take a pause. I had been working for almost 6-7 years then and I felt a break of 4-5 years won’t make a difference as I could join our business if I got no other work then.

At that point, I received a piece of invaluable and very precious advice. ‘’One should never go out of the market. However small but continue working. Never lose your earning capacity. Never be dependent upon someone for earning your income”.

At that time, I didn’t understand the gravity of this advice. I was like what difference doing some small activity will make. I was tempted to give up professional responsibility as managing both fronts was a task. But as advice came from someone whom I could not ignore I took accounting and internal audit assignment of a small pharma firm. The work was to be done from home and gave me a monthly income which was not even 10% of what I was earning earlier. I also prepared study material for coaching class, took up paper setting, and checking work. I enjoyed doing the work since it gave me a break from domestic chores, gave an opportunity to interact with the outside world, and kept me updated to some extent. After 2 years I started doing ad-hoc jobs related to our business like connecting with AMC agencies, printers, recruitment, consultants, administrative activities, designing the basic websites, and so on. The tasks were not related to my profession but they gave me a lot of knowledge and understanding.

After a hiatus of five years when I took up a professional assignment with an outside group, I was not technically at par with my colleagues in corporate parlance but yes, I had the zeal to learn and take up work with a fresh mind. Now I realize that if I had taken a complete break there were chances that I would have lost my confidence or capacity to multitask.

The reason for putting up this journey today is the current scenario wherein I see posts of so many people who are in extreme need of work. Last year has been an eye-opener. There has been an impact on all. People have lost their jobs, sales have taken a hit, many businesses have been forced to shut down, many employees had to take a wage cut, real estate prices have taken a hit. The medical bills of members who got infected were huge. In extremely sad cases people lost their lives. All in all, everyone has suffered emotionally as well as financially in some or other manner, more or less. It became clear that depending on one source of income is not feasible in the case of many households.

In Indian society, it is very common for married or pregnant ladies to get advice /support for taking a break in career. Where husbands are earning well or where the families have a business of their own naturally the question is, "Kya farak padta hain 2-3 years se?" Financially or professionally, it may not make a big deal but individually it definitely does. When the time comes to resume work there are many hitches. It's a frustrating depressing situation for many. Yes, times are changing and the new generation is not giving up their work so easily but still, the number is quite less.

A few years back I had a house help who was quite old. She came only to my house to do one hour job at sunrise. Later during the day, she used to take care of her grandchildren when her son and daughter-in-law went to work. I asked her what motivated her to come all the way for one work so early in the morning. She said, “This is my tonic, my confidence pill, and a great way of keeping myself active and fresh”. This also reminds me of the movie “English Vinglish” wherein Sridevi as Shashi makes a point to prepare and deliver ladoos fighting all criticism, earning and saving for some good cause.

Friends, I genuinely feel that time has come to have a holistic view, to change the norms, to build a conducive environment for all to work. As one learns to read, write, cook, eat, one needs to learn to earn. It is a life skill that can never go waste. I have seen many professionals turning into home chefs, artists, designers, trainers to strike a balance. They have found a way to their happiness and also they are earning regularly. It is not about the amount one earns, it is about the spirit and confidence. There is always a way out if things are planned with an open mind and there is support. Marriage and pregnancy are life-changing but let them not change the confidence to earn. If everything is well, it can be a bonus and if the need arises it can be a blessing. Educating a girl child is not enough. We need to make them independent. Girl or boy, every individual has to be capable of earning, taking their financial decisions, and standing strong if the need arises to support the family in any way. It is all about bringing a change in our mindset and the time to change is now.