Luck, Privilege and Limits of Hard Work

With a global value of $41.2 billion as at the end of 2023, the self-help industry marshaled by motivational speakers and bestselling authors, often peddles a very simplistic formula for success: work hard, stay focused, and believe in yourself. While these principles are essential, they overlook the most important factors that significantly influence an individual's potential for success like privilege and systemic inequalities. The lady who wakes up at 4:00 AM to go to Soweto Market to order vegetables for her corner stand doesn't need to read the 5AM Club to boost her mental focus and reach peak performance. The bus driver and conductor who wake up even earlier to pick her up with other passengers, do not need to read 48 Laws of Power. The vegetable farmer who despite the drought still travels all night from Shimabala to reach Soweto Market early enough for the vegetable lady does not need to read Who Moved My Cheese. The farm worker who picks vegetables to take kids to school and cater for her livelihood doesn't need to read Rich Dad Poor Dad. Privileged people wrote these books and they often claim that poor people are poor because they do not work hard or/and aren't smart enough. They overlook the immense effort and dedication that many individuals put into their daily lives just to make ends meet and exist. 

The reality is that success is not a linear journey, but depends on a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors usually outside a person’s control. Nothing in life is liner because our existence and success is contingent of how the ecosystem react and support our journeys. For instance, a person born into a low-income household may need both hard work and a kiss from Tyche (Greek mythology) or Fortuna (Latin) or Lady Luck in accessing quality education, healthcare, and opportunities. In this article, I acknowledge what I term the social determinants of success.

One's background and the surname they carry plays a significant role in determining their chances of success. We are all too familiar with the concept of powerful and influential names in Zambia. There are names which are found in every sector and everyone knows them. Unfortunately, I cannot help the uninitiated and list these names here because I cannot afford neither a lawyer or food whilst in police cells. But having those name alone opens doors and gives you access to opportunities. And that group has subsets made of those that benefited from post-independence politics and loyalty; those born into royalty, and; those who benefited from the privatization program that happened in the 1990s. The newest new money group got its money between 2011 and 2021. And since life isn’t a movie and wealth doesn’t have the emotions of humans, all these families have created a great generational wealth, education standards and family values that are still standing today. These are names that have controlled pretty much everything in Zambia since Independence. A familial backdrop, thus can either provide a springboard or create obstacles to overcome. Working hard doesn’t sort out this problem.

The second issue is the enabling environment. The ecosystem or environment surrounding an individual can either foster or hinder their growth. While working in the Pondo area of Chama district, I encountered a boy (let’s call him John Doe) who had been in Grade 7 for 4 consecutive years. This wasn't due to a lack of nearby secondary schools; in fact, Chikwa Boarding School was only about 10 to 20 kilometers away. However, his family lacked the resources to send him there. What made his situation particularly heartbreaking was that he was the best student in his class, consistently acing the Grade 7 exams each year.  Still in Chama and now in Sitwe of Chief Kambombo, a young boy who was a community school teacher and grade 4 girl (let’s call her Jane Doe) who was his student decided to elope. When asked why they did that, the girl boldly stated that she is the one who initiated the relationship because she wanted to be respected in the community as a ‘Mrs Teacher’ and she felt she was to dull to be in school. Now, both Jane and John were hard workers in every definition of the word. But the environments were not supportive, in fact the environments were an anchor tied to their respective ankles dragging them down the abyssal plain. Even the great escapologist Harry Houdini would find it hard to escape in such an environment. Things like access to quality community support and mentorship can provide the necessary tools and resources to help individuals thrive. Conversely, systemic barriers can stifle potential no matter how hard one works or the exuberance they exhibit.

The last but not the least thing I want to talk about is network or connections. Who you know can be just as important as what you know because in addition to doing everything already discussed above, it can enhance credibility and reputation. Motivational speakers will say building and leveraging a network requires intentional effort. But connections are influenced by factors outside one's control, such as socioeconomic status or geographic location. For instance, individuals from affluent backgrounds may have more opportunities to attend prestigious schools, join exclusive clubs, or participate in high-profile events where they can meet influential people. The digital age has introduced new dynamics to networking inequalities because digital networking still requires access to technology like a smartphone and the internet even a SoChe Bundle, which is a barrier to Zambians since 60% of us are poor.

Let me conclude by stating that when I find a motivational book or speaker who doesn’t use the oversimplified "work hard and succeed" narrative, someone who acknowledges the social determinants of success, maybe I will start listening to them. A motivational speaker who acknowledges that a person from a low-income background may face limited access to quality education, which affects their network and future opportunities. Someone that acknowledges that an individual with a disability may encounter environmental barriers, limiting their access to resources and social connections. Success is not solely the result of individual effort. No. The background, enabling environment, and connections, while not exhaustive, play a significant role in shaping our outcomes.

 

“'If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”

 

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOURS: LESSONS FROM SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

Every evening before retiring to bed, I’ve kept a ritual that has not only helped me manage work stress but also find humor in organizational politics that goes on in offices. Watching SpongeBob SquarePants has been helping me figure out how and why people act in certain ways within different types of professional groups. In this article, I will juxtapose organizational behavior and The Krusty Krab and strive to explain how that underwater eatery provides the standard template in employer-employee relationships.

The Organizational Structure

The Krusty Krab, which is a fast-food restaurant, located in Bikini Bottom, is founded, and owned by Eugene Harold Krabs. It is the most popular and best-known restaurant in Bikini Bottom for its Krabby Patty burgers. Its employees are SpongeBob SquarePants and Squidward Quincy Tentacles, respectively the Fry Cook and Cashier. The Krusty Krab also exhibits many of the undesirable qualities of real-life fast-food restaurants: it is dirty and cheaply maintained, and the restaurant is sometimes shown to be in a state of disrepair.

The Krabby Patty is the Krusty Krab's signature and popular food item. It is a meatless hamburger of sorts made from seaweed-sea buns, undersea vegetables, condiments, and a patty; it can also be ordered with cheese. The ingredients of the patty itself are purposely kept secret throughout.

Like in Krusty Krab, the formal relationship of people is what makes the structural design in organization. The managerial and organisational levels are decorated by hierarchical and specific functions as well as level to be incurred in structural design. The rights and responsibilities are also determined in a particular group or structure. For example, SpongeBob sticks to cooking and doesn’t pretend to be a better Cashier than Squidward, and the latter stick to being at the counter. But the manager (Mr Krabs) oversees the entire chain.

About SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, Bikini Bottom's most popular restaurant, where he is a fry cook and prepares all food served at the restaurant, most notably Krabby Patties. When he first applied for the job, he was turned down despite saying that it was his lifelong dream to join the Krusty Krew. In fact, Squidward and Mr. Krabs, wanting no part of him, sent him on a fool's errand for a "hydro-dynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and turbo drive." While he was out searching for one, Squidward and Mr. Krabs got so overwhelmed with customers and surprisingly, its SpongeBob who come to their rescue by coming back to feed all the customers, showing off his amazing cooking skills in the process.

Despite demonstrating that he understands the job better than anyone else, Mr Krabs doesn’t hesitate to threaten him with firing every time he asks for salary increase or better conditions of work. Which usually break his heart as he loves to work and be found in the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob, however, makes the same mistake which a lot of us are also usually victims of – the thinking that your workplace is your family. Employment is just transactional – I give you my time and labour, you give me an agreed-on wage. There is nothing like relationship building. It’s purely a marketplace and a place of continuous collaboration when interests align and competition, when they don’t. Firefighting and managing both covert and overt aggressions. The problem is that us human beings are intrinsically predisposed to convert these transactions in work into relationships, especially when you have worked in the same place for a long term. Now, let me be clear here. For some people, it can be both relationship and transaction and there is nothing wrong with loving what you do past the point of quid pro quo. However, as bitter as it is, the organization owns all the jobs and positions. There is no such a thing as my job or our job or your job. Jobs come into existence and cease at the whim of the organization.

About Squidward Quincy Tentacles

Squidward is the direct opposite of SpongeBob. He not only hates his duties but the Krusty Krab itself, and he performs his job rather poorly and with a lack of enthusiasm. He also frequently behaves rudely to the customers. He has often expressed a desire to be fired or simply quit, but never makes good on it. While he initially only seems to work there because he needs the money, he seems to only be there out of pure laziness of getting a different job as the series progresses.

Can Squidward change and exudes motivation? You can teach someone on how to do a job, but you never teach good attitude. It’s either you have it, or you don’t, more to do with how your childhood was socialized. An individual must take it upon themselves to make changes, nothing external changes bad attitude. Some people just have dysfunctional behaviors, are full drama, and can never work without strict supervision. They hold down their entire team in two ways: by not pulling their weight and by rubbing off their attitude on others. There’s nothing more frustrating and demotivating that seeing someone who relatively doesn’t do as much as you do get the same or more accolades and rewards than you.

About Eugene Harold Krabs

Mr. Krabs main interest is to have money, and his greed is often shown to be so bad that it causes him to make stupid decisions and put money above his customers, his employees, and his family, including his own life. He treats money as if it's royalty in some respects, frequently associating his customers and products with money. Whenever SpongeBob fails to turn for work for whatever reason, Mr. Krabs often realizes how indispensable he is. In any work environment, you are only being kept because you are beneficial to the organization.

Managers must know that they work with human beings with feelings and who make their inferences based on both actions and inactions in the workplace. It is a well-known fact that motivation – in homes, school, and workplace – can be dampened or stunted by discouragement, lack of confidence, and fear of making mistakes. In the workplace it is also very closely attached to management skill, personal development opportunities and how much meaningful work is attached to the job.

Managers must keep their employees settled and comfortable in their respective roles. Because the moment an employee starts finding themselves speeding more time on Go Jobs Zambia, the motivation to do the work plummets and the demotivating effect rubs on to other employees even if they do not know their colleague intends to leave. Demotivation and bad work attitude are highly contagious.

Positive workplace culture is an integral part of any successful ‘Krusty Krab’ and alludes to a happy working environment in which employees feel content and comfortable to demonstrate their skillset, knowledge, and experiences.

Why is all this discussion important?

Although the organisational behaviour theories have been around for decades, they are still very relevant to the modern workplace. Technologies and ways of working have undoubtedly changed, but the intellectual tendencies and desires of the average employee have not. As McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y was keen to point out, for example, facilitating friendly workplace environments in which managers and employees work together side by side is an excellent way to boost motivation and ultimately improve the efficiency of a company. This is still very true today. If you want your ‘Krusty Krab’ to succeed in a competitive market, you need to ensure that your employees are motivated to succeed by offering them a pleasant workplace environment and plenty of opportunities for personal growth. For the employee, do all your best you can whilst you are in employment. That’s your reputation and legacy you are building, the cornerstone of your life. In the words of Bruce Lee, preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, organizational behaviours is concerned with people behaviours within an organizational setting (the Krusty Krab) and how Squidward, SpongeBob and Mr Krabs behave as both individuals and as a group. This being a social science, care must be taken not to use a one-size fits all approach. Understanding people and organizations must be contextualized. Another challenge to lookout for is the “Hawthorne effects” where people adjust behaviours and output in response to being watched especially during probation or performance improvement plans (PIPs) implementation period. Organizations should also understand that they are operating in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. It is it the managements’ responsibility to be alert on how they can improve productivity, streamlines efficiency, and sparks innovation. This tends to give ‘Krust Krab’ a competitive edge.

For employees, look at it in a different way. You are your own boss, and you are selling your labour to your employer making them just your customer. Customer tastes and preferences are ephemeral and are constantly changing. Thus, it is perfectly fine for the customer to stop purchasing your service, it is transactional after all. Unless your career is the most on-demand never give yourself the trappings of importance and delusion of grandeur. Once our services cease to be useful, we're all expendable.