I, me, myself, three government officials

Multiple personality disorder is a serious mental condition but it is unlikely that the official who managed to be appointed in three government jobs in Bihar — and get promoted in each till almost retirement age — will be able to cite that as an excuse. It is, of course, a testament to his multitasking ability that he was able to simultaneously (and convincingly) be an engineer in the state road construction department and hold down two jobs (in two different places, that too) in the water resources department for three decades. Clearly, these departments are so new-age that physical presence in the workplace was not deemed necessary, and there were also liberal leave allowances. Drawing salaries for three full-time jobs, however, is not something to be encouraged among multitaskers, no matter how energetic and industrious.

Others who may want to emulate the now-absconding official should heed the results of studies by neuroscientists that revealed habitual multitaskers had lower density of grey matter in the area that controls decision-making and scored lower in cognitive control tests, besides showing higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Good thing that the implementation of the Comprehensive Financial Management System (CFMS) containing Aadhaar and PAN data of all officials, has put paid to this sort of dexterity anyway.