Saturday, March 17, 2007

Extended childhood

A few months ago, a 40+ years old guy in a company was a little jumpy 'coz his revised salary hadn't been updated in the payroll and his monthly requirement was 50K to payoff his EMIs! After the regular ego massage, he cooled down and said that he did not depend on his salary! His father paid all his bills.........

Considering a generation that has spent 30+ years in PSUs, the next generation(growing at a healthy rate) seems to be quite comfortably into an extended childhood! This very segment seems to contribute generously to the mall culture.

One other interesting possible offshoot is in the area of multiple careers in a lifetime. The driver seems to be a certain self propelling mode in the west, while it is one of comfort zone and economic extended childhood in India.

Could lead to issues for retention. Hikes may not be simple hikes. They would transalate into a "how much does my company want me" factor. If there is enough work on changing this mindset, apart from the hygiene factor salary increase, a paradigm shift in the way of running the business is in the offing.....

- Siddharth
PS: Thanks to a new found Gem of a friend for powerful insights (and a nice place for ice cream)