Fat pay = Happy life?

Just after giving my resignation at my workplace, I happened to meet an interesting person from a reputed company. He and had visited our company to educate us regarding certain latest developments. He had an in-depth technical knowledge in his field of study, and I, along with a few other friends, was easily impressed. This person, we decided, was excellent. He knew all that was required and could present the matters so well. During a short break, we were chatting along, and he congratulated me on my new job.

“So, fat salary, huh?” he said. He was both fatty and chatty.

“Not really. My pay will be only marginally higher. Of course, it appears that there are better prospects for growth out there, financially. Also, I’m happier with the nature of work I’m being offered there. I’m hoping for a better job satisfaction… It’ll also give me more time with my family” I said, fingers crossed.

“Ha ha! Job satisfaction can be attained only with a fat salary, what else? “

“Well, like see, you speak so well on your subject… That can happen only if you have a liking to it. That certainly makes your work more interesting, doesn’t it?”

“No way! I speak well because I get paid for speaking well. If I would get paid better for something else, I’ll jump on it! My job demands that I stay away from my wife and daughter for at least 20 days a month. (Observing the concern on my face), Oh, you’ll say I’m losing out something, but you see, I’m gaining more than I’m losing. Wife sometimes cribs about not giving her sufficient time, daughter is too young to do that. But, you see, I can take care of all their needs. They are happy, so I’m happy. I was offered a job near my place with a lesser pay, and my wife wanted me to take it up, but no way. I’ll never compromise with the needs of my family.”

He would have rattled on, it appeared, but we had to get back to work. Damn, I had so many questions to ask him. Anyway, he was quite clear about his priority. FAT SALARY. He did not seem to be a person who would accept that there were needs other than those that money could offer to his family.

Ah, I certainly don’t mean to underestimate the importance of the green papers, but then, there’s much more to life, and the value of spending some time with family cannot be undermined! This reminded me of a little story I read sometime back. I’m not sure about the source, though.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man.
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “If you must know, I make $ 20.00 an hour.”“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. Looking up, he said, “Daddy, may I please borrow $10?”The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.” The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? 

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.“Are you asleep, son?” He asked.“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,”said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.”The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” He yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. “Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.“Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”