“Sir, I am unhappy.”
“What happened?” I asked. If I could help it, I would not have anyone unhappy in my department, because unhappy people achieve far less than happy people, and if life was not about being happy, then what was it about?
“Do you remember I had asked the administration for xxxxxxxx?” (the Xs are put here to maintain confidentiality).
“Yes. Did you get an affirmative answer?”
“The first paper was held by the head clerk after the administration had sanctioned it. When I sent a reminder, the head clerk kept that paper too after the administration sanctioned it.”
“Was your demand actually sanctioned?” I asked. “As I recall, though it was a perfectly reasonable and legal demand, the civic chief a few years ago had declined such a request to someone else.”
“Well, the administrator had just signed on my request and marked it for the head clerk.”
“That is just direction for the head clerk to take action as per rules” I explained.
“Yes. You had said that before too. So I took the head clerk and that paper to the administrator and asked for clear directions on the issue.”
“Did you get what you wanted?” I asked.
“No. The administrator said my head of department should grant me what I asked for without bothering the administration.”
“I would do it if I had that authority” I said. “I cannot because it is not in the civic service rules.”
“That is what! The administrator said you stick to rules very rigidly. You should set some rules aside.”
So my staff member was unhappy because I would not break some rules to oblige that staff member.
“Look here. You saw what happened to those who set the rules aside in the Sara Sahara scam? They spent a long time in jail. You saw what is happening to those who set rules aside in the Armymen’s Adarsh building scam and 2G spectrum scam? Do you think it is fair to me to ask me to bend rules so that you will get what we know is legally yours, when a better option is to ask the civic chief to grant what you want, and if he won’t, take legal recourse?”
“Um….”
“What happened?” I asked. If I could help it, I would not have anyone unhappy in my department, because unhappy people achieve far less than happy people, and if life was not about being happy, then what was it about?
“Do you remember I had asked the administration for xxxxxxxx?” (the Xs are put here to maintain confidentiality).
“Yes. Did you get an affirmative answer?”
“The first paper was held by the head clerk after the administration had sanctioned it. When I sent a reminder, the head clerk kept that paper too after the administration sanctioned it.”
“Was your demand actually sanctioned?” I asked. “As I recall, though it was a perfectly reasonable and legal demand, the civic chief a few years ago had declined such a request to someone else.”
“Well, the administrator had just signed on my request and marked it for the head clerk.”
“That is just direction for the head clerk to take action as per rules” I explained.
“Yes. You had said that before too. So I took the head clerk and that paper to the administrator and asked for clear directions on the issue.”
“Did you get what you wanted?” I asked.
“No. The administrator said my head of department should grant me what I asked for without bothering the administration.”
“I would do it if I had that authority” I said. “I cannot because it is not in the civic service rules.”
“That is what! The administrator said you stick to rules very rigidly. You should set some rules aside.”
So my staff member was unhappy because I would not break some rules to oblige that staff member.
“Look here. You saw what happened to those who set the rules aside in the Sara Sahara scam? They spent a long time in jail. You saw what is happening to those who set rules aside in the Armymen’s Adarsh building scam and 2G spectrum scam? Do you think it is fair to me to ask me to bend rules so that you will get what we know is legally yours, when a better option is to ask the civic chief to grant what you want, and if he won’t, take legal recourse?”
“Um….”
