Exploring the Interviewees Perceptions of Freedom - Essay Example

? Interview Report College Interview report This is a summative report of an interview that was meant to explore the interviewee’s perceptions of freedom. The interviewee was Mr. X. The report is divided into two parts. The first part details Mr. X’s biography and summarizes his responses to the questions asked. The second part analyzes Mr. X’s responses and discusses two very important themes of freedom that were derived from Mr. X’s responses. Interview summary Mr. X is a migrant. He has completed education till Secondary School Certificate (SSC) in his homeland. He had migrated to the USA with an intention to seek higher education and employment. Mr. X was encouraged by his parents to go abroad and make his life there as he would be able to find more opportunities of academic and professional development. Coming from a poor family, he had to earn to fund his studies. He joined the college but couldn’t continue as the job consumed most of his time. He eventually decided to leave the studies and continue with his job. However, he did do a diploma in hotel management and has completed about two short courses on hotel management as well which led him to becoming a hotel manager from a caterer that was how he was hired in his first job. Mr. X has been serving as a hotel manager for over ten years. He is between 35 and 44 years of age. The four words or phrases said by Mr. X that describe the word “freedom” for him are “decision making power”, “work-life balance”, “money” and “peace of mind.” Of the four, Mr. X considers work-life balance and money the most important depicters of an individual’s freedom. Mr. X has been living away from his family ever since he moved to the USA. He does not think that he is free because for all these years, he has not been able to balance his work with his social life. At one point in the interview, Mr. X said, “My life is all about work. I work, work and work more to raise my children abroad.” Mr. X considers money an important depicter of freedom because he comes from a very poor background. His father was a batman in army, and had to serve the officers to make his living. When Mr. X reflects upon the life of his father, he finds little difference between such a servant and a slave. In fact, his desire to make money fundamentally came from the urge to break free of the kind of lifestyle his father had spent. When asked what made him think of decision making power as a measure of freedom, Mr. X narrated the following lines of a poem: “Freedom is about blank, white paper Writing what you want to write, where you want to write Saying the things you would never normally say out loud” (Quiterio, 2002). Analysis Freedom is very difficult to define. “Freedom cannot be defined, except through an analysis of the restrictions on human action” (Cooray, 2011). Two themes in the definition of freedom narrated by Mr. X that I find most interesting are “decision making power” and “work-life balance”. To me, freedom does not mean lack of slavery. If an individual is not enslaved, he/she is not necessarily free. To be free in the real sense means to be able to make the important decisions of life. When an individual is free, he is able to adjust his work according to his wish, rather than adjusting his wishes according to his work. There are two kinds of freedom; social freedom and professional freedom. Social freedom provides an individual with the opportunity to do whatever he wants. People who have a large degree of social freedom are generally very rich. They have more than enough money to satisfy their needs. They may do a job, but job is not really their need. Many people with a high degree of social freedom do job to kill time rather than to earn money. People who have professional freedom have high position and authority. They are leaders or managers. While they make others do very hard work, their own work life is quite balanced with their social life. Mr. X talked a lot about the lack of work-life balance in his life. In his thirteen years of professional life, he has not had time for his family. His family is in India and he has only visited his family three times in the last thirteen years. Mr. X says that he misses his family and has not been able to see his children grow up. Although he earns good enough in the USA, yet his job has created distances between him and his family. As a result of this, Mr. X’s children do not have much association with him. Mr. X said that although the manager has defined working hours for every employee including Mr. X, yet they are hardly followed. Many employees have to stay in the hotel long after the break off time. Mr. X also remains in the hotel for an average of two hours after the break off time and he is also not paid for the overtime. The tough work schedule has caused a great impact on his social life and he does not get to see his friends very often. In this sense, he does not consider himself free as his work is not giving Mr. X time to enjoy his social life. However, he is positive that he has been able to provide his family with a good standard of living with his hard work. “The secret to booking your time effectively boils down to knowing what’s important and what can wait” (Transire, 2011). Mr. X sees this principle of work-life balance in a broader horizon and says that earning money was his first priority because when his children have grown up and settled down with their professions, he would be able to hold his head high in the family with the confidence, that he has done his bit. So he can wait until then! Work-life balance (Transire, 2011). References: Cooray, D. M. (2011). What Is Freedom? Retrieved from http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/westdem/chap3.htm. Quiterio, D. (2002). Ignoring the Lines. Retrieved from http://chelm.freeyellow.com/quiterio.html. Transire. (2011). Work / Life Balance Tips. Retrieved from http://transireltd.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/work-life-balance-tips/. Read More