I have spent half a decade in academics and I have experienced that there is no freedom in academics and in corporate or any job. You have to follow the retarded rules which lowers your productivity and will to produce something of quality. You have to join mandatory meetings which are not very fruitful and are arranged to just look busy and to fill time. The thing I dislike about the academic life in india is that you have to join useless events which don't have anything to do with your course and they are mandatory to join or you will be sidelined and targetted for not joining them in fun.
If somebody tells me that this thing is mandatory you must do it or join it, I just don't do it, and there are two reasons for that. First, that mandatory activity is just a timepass and second, it sounds like an order to drop all my plans to join their mandatory thing. Maybe you don't have anything going out in your life and your whole personality is based on your work or workplace but that doesn't mean everyone is going to be like that.
Some people who are in higher level of academics than me get confused that how can he refuse to follow our orders. All the others are following every order like a good sheeple, why not he is doing that.
Most people are doing the stuff that they don't like because of money, but what's the point if you don't have freedom to dictate your decisions; and you let money or people dictate your life. And they abuse this thing and make you join their stupid events and do the job which you don't want to do.
My point is, that person is totally dependent on them and can't do his things or follow his ideas because the higher ups will dictate your actions if you like it or not, don't like it? Bye bye. And you should leave if you have some little brain and self respect left and are not a slave to money or authority.
Now I know why the saints and bhagvad gita say that keep yourself away from the materialistic things. Because you lose yourself and your freedom when you're playing with the beast system. Atlast, I want to say that always keep freedom first in every aspect of your life. Don't do anything you don't want to do. Have some balls and principles in your life. Always remember you have a choice to comply or not to comply. You are not a victim, you want to be a victim badly, but you're not. Make use of that choice and leave the things which effects your freedom.