Are corporate jobs a new form of slavery?

If the word slavery is taken in its literal sense, then No, corporate jobs are definitely not slavery. Slavery, which existed a few centuries ago, was a serious social evil. It was racist, discriminatory, inhumane and what not. Equating Corporate jobs to slavery(literal sense) would be stretching it too far.

But, if we talk about slavery in figurative terms, then an argument can be made. Corporate houses are no saints. Corporate jobs are highly profit-centric and the welfare of the employees only goes as far as it is profitable. They have high working hours, little to no paid leaves, stringent performance measures, repeated work, low wages, etc. Most of them have very little scope for personal development. After a 10 hour shift, a person hardly has any time to rejuvenate and develop themselves. The nature of work is also highly specialized, anyone wishing to learn more about the various aspects of the business has no scope for it at all. For instance, if you’re a programmer but wish to learn more about marketing, you’ll have to leave the job and look for a new one in marketing.

The enslavement is not directly visible for the not-so-keen observer. While it may look like the individual has been renumerated for their efforts, but it is not so. The financial rewards may be abundant, but the time, sometimes health and growth opportunities sacrificed for that one promotion far outweigh the rewards.

The case of India is particularly bleak. India is a labour surplus country. The supply of employees is much greater than the demand. This, in turn, decreases the value given to employees as they are perceived to be replaceable. This also decreases the chances of promotion. What an experienced person can accomplish can be similarly accomplished by 10 entry-level employees at a far cheaper price.

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