By M .M. Goel

To prove ``work is worship,” ``worship is work” and ``work works” are success stories, International Labor Day on May 1 is the most appropriate occasion.

The adage ``work is worship” deserves the attention of workers of all shades and creed in the knowledge economy of today. This is a necessary and sufficient condition for increasing the productivity of labor consisting of skilled and unskilled workers in various vocations and professions.

It is pertinent to mention that the industrial revolution in Britain took place because of the invention, research and innovation of the blue collar workers who believed ``work is worship.”

We need to pursue invention and innovation for which workers of all categories need motivation and encouragement by their employers. This call for research and development (R&D) funding exclusively for them so that the unit cost of labor is reduced and productivity is enhanced.

This is desirable for moving forward to adopt new environmentally friendly technology. It is also worth noting an observation by economist Robert M. Solow that output per man hour with skill generation proved a more positive source than any other factor in the United States in the 1909-1949 period.

To usher in progress with grace, destiny and poise, we need to enhance gross domestic product in the present world of competition which is both healthy and unhealthy. In economics, we examine the unit cost of labor as a tool for competitiveness which is lower in India in comparison to other developed countries of the world.

After all, INDIA could stand for independent, non-violent democracy with integrity and amity of workers who deserve the opportunity to work anywhere in the world. Let the mobility and movement of Indian manpower be welcomed more gracefully by relaxing visa rules and fees to serve the world with honesty and integrity flowing from the wisdom of ``worship is work.”

It is firmly believed by every Indian, like me, that the rate of progress in spiritualism is faster than the rate of progress in materialism. This makes a case for accepting spiritually guided materialism as a solution of various problems of an economy seeking remedial steps to come out of the prevailing global financial crisis.

Further, it justifies ``needonomics” and not ``greedonomics,” which is authenticated in “Bhagwad Gita.” To my mind, the teachings of “Bhagwad Gita” are meant for one and all in all aspects of life. “Bhagwad Gita” is an ideology or thought neutral, religion free book on management and is a treatise on welfare economics and proves worship is work and vice versa.

To worship, we need time and devotion which can be created by confirming the economic theory of labor supply in terms of the ``backward sloping supply curve of labor” which refers to a graph, if real wages were to increase then the worker will obtain greater utility, due to their higher income up to a level after which, if the real wage increased, then the number of hours worked would fall.

This is because the income effect has now become greater than the substitution effect. This is because utility gained from an extra hour of leisure is greater than the utility gained from the income earned working. Basically, beyond the maximum wage we see that the worker is being paid enough to sustain his or her current lifestyle without having to work more hours, therefore creating the backwards bend in the curve.

Let employees work for eight hours only and create positions for those who are unemployed. We need to assure young minds that jobs and employment and a pollution free working environment consisting of good governance, recruitment, retention and respect of human resource management for their work which is worship and vice versa.

Let the workers be provided the freedom to do something and not freedom from something as their right as well as duty.

The writer is a professor of economics and dean of the faculty of social sciences at Kurukshetra University in Kurukshetra, India. His email address is mmgoel2001@yahoo.co.in.