Time Thieves and the Protected Caretaker

Have you noticed how somewhere along the way from socialism to instant capitalism, the beautiful custom of visiting each other spontaneously, without prior notice and big arrangements, has been lost? I have almost forgotten that exciting feeling of anticipation for the doorbell, enjoying unexpected friends (even relatives!), in long, unplanned conversations with dear people. Today, even for a friendly coffee, we write in planners.

Months and years fly by in a crazy fifth gear, rushing to and from work, driving children to school and other activities (which used to be free), visiting shopping centers, filling the fridge, studying, cleaning, cooking, ironing… Some will say that I can ‘outsource’ the latter, pay some aunt to cook, wash, iron, vacuum for me. Yes, I could. As soon as I take on some additional, part-time job to have something to pay the aunt with. Because of that job, I will have even less time for myself, family, and friends. Because I will be working more. Ah, yes. I could copy successful moms. I could hire another aunt to step in for me and study with the kids, take care of them, drive them around the city. And I will work even more to pay for all that. Until I drop dead. Do you see any sense in that??

I recently listened to Ljerka Puljić, the Vice President of Agrokor, at Lider’s conference on family businesses. She talked about the foundations of the company’s success, how work is done there, how interpersonal and intergenerational relationships function. I have great respect for Ljerka Puljić. She is perhaps the best proof of the strength and capability of women in business, the knowledge she brings, which is often lacking in business. But at the moment she said that the company’s leadership meets on weekends to quietly think about development strategy – after working 12 hours or more every weekday! – I could only helplessly mutter to myself: ‘even on weekends’?? Where is that beautiful Marxist equation: 3×8 hours? Without it, life will literally grind us down.

You will say it was worth it. Because today we have a choice. We have Zara, a hundred types of the finest (imported) cheeses, Furline bags, LCD and plasma televisions, deluxe Italian tiles or designer sofas. In the times before ‘freedom’, instead of Zara, we had Nama. Instead of Starka, we wore the famous Shanghai shoes. Ten times cheaper and at least twenty times more durable. Instead of Italian design, we had Inker and Exportdrvo. Imagine, we had both production and export. The state had no need to steal earned wages, companies had no reason to evade taxes. Today we have things. And time thieves. Maybe I could pretend that it’s OK, but the state has decided to steal our time as well. Which proves that we haven’t moved an inch away from the Balkans. The one in our heads.

I can prove to you with a banal example of employment in a primary school why all this was not worth the effort. For a long time, only one caretaker maintained that school. Let’s call him Ant. He managed everything himself – fixing broken doors, locks, windows, toilet fixtures, school desks, chairs, lighting, fences, grass, trees… (yes, that’s that pointless, unproductive job in the public sector that we should probably get rid of because it ‘does not contribute to GDP growth’). Then, because the school’s surface allows it, they hired another caretaker. Let’s call him Bee. I think you already understand the situation. The job was not split in half. For Ant, it did not become easier. Because Bee arrived on someone’s ‘recommendation’. Probably from some ‘uncle Luka’. Bee, predictably, knows nothing about work. It doesn’t even occur to him to try to learn. He has connections, so why would he? When Ant complains to the principal that it would be good if Bee at least occasionally moved his behind, the principal, you guessed it, takes it out on him. Not on Bee. Because Bee could call his uncle Luka. Then the principal would get a tongue-lashing. Maybe even fired.

If you take that case to the ‘n-th’ power, it is clear why at the top of the state and state companies, there are only pearls. With the difference that with the pearls leading us, we all drink the soup of tongues. Because such employed ignoramuses hold us in their grip. I am already tired of that. I am tired of shipyards, stealing grain and blue diesel, hiring based on grandfathers and uncles, a closed circle of non-payment, endless and ‘unpatchable’ holes in the budget, living in which we are not masters of our time. That is why I have no understanding for time thieves of all kinds.

Maybe this is unexpectedly pessimistic. But I have an excuse. The premature death of a friend forces you to reconsider what you have in life. Not what managerial position you hold, how much money you have, and what you own, but how many friends you have and how much precious time you have devoted to them. How much you have enjoyed life. You also reconsider what you have received from such a state. The problem is when you realize that there is a big hole in that too. Bigger than the budget. And in return, you have received nothing.