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.

Also Read :  Should the rich and wealthy in India be taxed more?

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13 Comments

  • Deepak kumar, Mar 18, 2023 @ 7:29 am Reply

    This is a best topic for all but it’s not depend on the conclusion of the own opinion.

  • Kaushal sisodya, Sep 1, 2020 @ 1:19 pm Reply

    Manipulating the staff in a positive way can be an effectivement management tool. Using a positive form of manipulation to motivate employees towards their goals can help to improve their performance and allow teams to achieve organizational goals. That’s what managers do.

  • Mohit Parihar, Mar 31, 2020 @ 9:49 pm Reply

    Everyone wants to have a job in any of the corporate/private sector or the government sector. What actually matters for job in my opinion is something which while doing we should not feel hatred for it for the long term. It should not be a kind of Stymied in making a slow progress in our life. While slavery in my opinion is something which will be done by deliberately forcing someone to do something. So corporate jobs might seems kind of ostensible slavery. But in actual it is the choice of one who is doing job in the corporate sector whether he/she should do that particular job or not which completely make them the master of their own future, which means they chose whether they want to continue job or not. So one should not clutter his mind with thoughts of slavery and anything similar to that about corporate sector. Our mindset has been developed in such a way that in a organisation irrespective of whether it is a corporate/private sector or government sector. The people who are working under will always find head of the organisation nothing less than a despot. So we can’t mention people who work under corporate sector as slave but I call them the dictator of their life who have every righteous choice to look for their future. Slavery concept is from the time of the tyrant rulers. But nothing like past can happen in the world of today. So I would like to assimilate it by saying that corporate jobs are not a form of slavery because they are indeed the choice of an individual. So if an individual do not like to work anymore in the corporate sector, he/she should identify his latent talent and start improving in order to have a better life. Most people can’t quit their job in my opinion is due to their insurmountable problems and financial problems. And due to this they see their company as a haven. In actual they misunderstood their talents and they are doing nothing but just dragging their life in more deeper vague.

  • Amisha khandelwal, Jan 29, 2020 @ 5:33 pm Reply

    In my opinion, using slavery word in corporate job is not correct. Slaves are those who work for other irrespective of their choice. In earlier there are no corporate people are forced to work as a Labour otherwise they will be punished. They don’t have the right to do work of their choice they don’t even get proper food in fear of punishment they are force to do slavery. But in today’s world we are living in a environment where students gain knowledge till 15yr and then they are told to be become financially independent so they start earning first they find it interesting as they are getting salary they gave their 10 hours daily after 1-2 year they started getting frustrated if they don’t complete their target on time.according to me people wants to climb up and up they don’t know their target they just want to climb due to this at certain point they find get frustrated, find disappointment actually it depends upon psychology of the human being if they find it interesting then they will hate the term slavery and those who hate to work find it a right word.

  • Jahanvi, Jan 3, 2020 @ 4:14 pm Reply

    According to me, we can’t consider corporate job as a slavery as if we are working at that place it’s is because of our choices, get salary, and if we want to leave we can unlike slavery which forces us to do whatever it needed, we can’t do what we want. Yes, i agreed with that we have to work 10-12 hr any how…. But in every sector we have to work…. Even in business sector too…. If a bussiness man take a leave for day he does’t get income of that day…
    The only difference is in corporate we have to work under someone…

  • jimmy, Dec 4, 2019 @ 12:55 am Reply

    In Debate Class we had to chose topics for a debate I picked this because this look interesting thanks for the information.

  • Shristi Poddar, Nov 4, 2019 @ 5:48 pm Reply

    We can’t define corporate jobs as slavery but it varies from a person-to-person i.e., if a person is doing a job it means that it was something he/she wanted for their courier to bloom in the future. It totally depends upon the person whether he does his job with happiness or in slavery. It is the job’s earning that gives him the financial capability to live a better life and spend on their needs, wants and desires. Every person is a slvae in this world, no one gets anything for free ; then why telling corporate job as a slavery ?

  • Tinku Paul, Jun 10, 2019 @ 7:25 am Reply

    According to me any private organisations job is a slavery if it is corporate or non corporate because of they don’t have any personal life , yes they get good remuneration , travelling allowance or pickup and drop facility. But employees have to work 10 to 12 hours may be in office and after they return to office sometimes house also they have to work according to their demand. After 12 hours work people they get tired , they feel exhausted, they don’t have capacity to talk their family or time spend with them. They have lots of work pressure, huge anxiety , fulfill targets etc. There is no choice, may be husband and wife both are in corporate sector sometimes it is very difficult to continue their relationship because of they are busy they don’t have time. From my personal experience , I am a private organisation employee , when I return from office I feel very tired even i have desire to talk anybody , I hardly speak. Yes we earn money , get facility but corporate job is a slavery.

  • Anshul Rana, Jun 8, 2019 @ 11:36 pm Reply

    Given the competitive nature of businesses in today’s world expecting stricter targets from employers is the order of the day. This is not limited to corporate sector. It is applicable in other sectors such as Banking also.
    Working schedule is quite strict but it doesn’t mean that an individual will not get a chance to grow personally or has to compromise health.
    Ample of extra-curricular activities are organized inside these companies. If an employee is skilled and good at his job, he can easily manage time for other activities.Besides, companies give the facility of working from home or taking a short sabbatical from work to get rejuvenated.
    Saying that corporate jobs is new form of slavery is a matter of perspective & your ability to manage your time.

    • Team GD Ideas, Jun 9, 2019 @ 4:00 pm Reply

      Well said Anshul!

  • Shubham, Jun 5, 2019 @ 5:32 pm Reply

    When we talk about Slavery in corporate jobs, definitely No. I would say slavery is what happened in USA between Black & White peoples, Black were actually treated worst than an animal. No-one cared about there food, there families and health.
    I would say,yes it is difficult to survive in corporate job, an employee has work in a peer pressure and under difficult situations. But, on other hand, Companies are also paying according to one’s capability, some are providing cab facilities, food & accommodation too. Govt is also creating a better environment for the companies to do business, and get more profit. Once companies will get business and profit they will create more organised environment for an employee to work.
    In corporate job, psychology of an employee also matters. If one is enjoying work and culture of a company, he/she will not agree with the statement.

    • Team GD Ideas, Jun 9, 2019 @ 4:29 pm Reply

      That’s right Shubham! We cannot term it as slavery when we are well-compensated.

    • Lizzy, Jan 19, 2024 @ 12:31 am Reply

      What you said is right, they treat the bad poorly

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