Conversant.
The turnover rate at my workplace of late had been alarmingly high. People would quit their temporary job just after working for a few days. To think I had imagined the last job I held as Program Administrator at a US-based Manufacturing firm was the worst that I could have ever imagined.
One separate factor that I have considered is that most of the staff on the ground operations are students from tertiary instituitions on short vacations, school-leavers waiting for results with the occasional graduates awaiting for a new and perhaps higher paying job. Most of these people have no idea how to start a proper conversation with no immediate topics in mind. Tough luck because a number of these projects are requiring the staff to be naturally conversant. Today a young boy sat next to me, with his wide innocent look and an expression that says, "Oh My God, how am I going to start talking to this person to ask him/her to give me their details of their job appointment and the answers to this survey?"
Naturally it took me a while to explain a number of things to get him started on just the first phonecall.
I had a short chat with my direct Supervisor today and my first question to her was "Are you planning to leave the company?" because I heard from a hearsay [donated from a colleague who had just finished her last day today] that my supervisor was attracted by a job offer as a Personal Assistant [PA] to a Director and the pay was quoted as 5K. In my heart I was thinkin "OMG, 5K. That is pretty high for a secretary or as the job title appointed, a Personal Assistant." thus thinkin as compared to what she is struggling now with her role in the company it might seem like a really attractive offer. By logical comparison, if you're doin the same tiring work [probably the amount of work would be slightly more at the offer as the PA] but get paid like almost 3 times more, why would you not get tempted?
That's when I did her comparison to another colleague of mine who joined this company for approximately 7 months now. From my observation of how she works its obvious that she's a pretty capable person not to mentioned an experienced worker but why then would she accept such a "simple" job of simply taking incoming calls at a Call Centre? I had a brief chat with her once and she said she got tired of "Corporate Politics" and simply decided to leave. How then, does one measure the willingness to endure politics so as to put aside everythin in order to receive that coverted pay check at the end of every month?
Is 5K enough to make sure you can endure all kinds of torturous work - physically and mentally? I'm thinkin along this path is because I'm assuming that the work as a Director PA is worse than a Call Centre Team Leader.
That thought floated my thoughts back to my 2 month stint at the US-based Manufacturing Firm.
The pay is indeed much better than this current job I'm holding but the amount of mental torture that was imposed on me was simply of unreasonable standards and despite my best efforts to endure and manage it, the amount simply kept increasing until one day the inevitable happened - I tendered.
My parents got worried about me for a while because despite the job market picking up I tendered at a time where it's approaching the end of the year and this usually means companies are doing their financial year end closing accounts. This also means they're not prone to increasing their headcount for staff because this would mean unnecessary and unwelcomed work for both the accounts and the HR payroll section. So naturally these companies would put aside any recruitment till early next yr. Indirectly it meant if I do not get a job soon, I would remain unemployed till Feb or even March next year. Not going to reflect good on my resume if as a fresh graduate I do not try to secure a job within 3 months. Thankfully, my supervisor said no and laughed it off because it was meant as a joke to tease the colleague who's leaving.
I took the explanation with a pinch of salt.
I guess the effects of being an experienced worker made me a little critical indeed. Lesson number one - Do not trust your fellow colleagues lightly because you are all aiming for the same promotion. Unless you are from different departments whose jobscopes will never clash with one another then perhaps the trust is more easily placed. However, they won't be able to dish advice that is as effective as a colleague who is in the same department and knows more appropriately what is useful advice and what are simply words of consolation.
Take advice from someone whom you can trust but knows little about what is exactly happening? Or take advice from someone who gives effective advice but unable to trust?
The burning question would be - Is the effectivenes for you? Or the colleague?
One separate factor that I have considered is that most of the staff on the ground operations are students from tertiary instituitions on short vacations, school-leavers waiting for results with the occasional graduates awaiting for a new and perhaps higher paying job. Most of these people have no idea how to start a proper conversation with no immediate topics in mind. Tough luck because a number of these projects are requiring the staff to be naturally conversant. Today a young boy sat next to me, with his wide innocent look and an expression that says, "Oh My God, how am I going to start talking to this person to ask him/her to give me their details of their job appointment and the answers to this survey?"
Naturally it took me a while to explain a number of things to get him started on just the first phonecall.
I had a short chat with my direct Supervisor today and my first question to her was "Are you planning to leave the company?" because I heard from a hearsay [donated from a colleague who had just finished her last day today] that my supervisor was attracted by a job offer as a Personal Assistant [PA] to a Director and the pay was quoted as 5K. In my heart I was thinkin "OMG, 5K. That is pretty high for a secretary or as the job title appointed, a Personal Assistant." thus thinkin as compared to what she is struggling now with her role in the company it might seem like a really attractive offer. By logical comparison, if you're doin the same tiring work [probably the amount of work would be slightly more at the offer as the PA] but get paid like almost 3 times more, why would you not get tempted?
That's when I did her comparison to another colleague of mine who joined this company for approximately 7 months now. From my observation of how she works its obvious that she's a pretty capable person not to mentioned an experienced worker but why then would she accept such a "simple" job of simply taking incoming calls at a Call Centre? I had a brief chat with her once and she said she got tired of "Corporate Politics" and simply decided to leave. How then, does one measure the willingness to endure politics so as to put aside everythin in order to receive that coverted pay check at the end of every month?
Is 5K enough to make sure you can endure all kinds of torturous work - physically and mentally? I'm thinkin along this path is because I'm assuming that the work as a Director PA is worse than a Call Centre Team Leader.
That thought floated my thoughts back to my 2 month stint at the US-based Manufacturing Firm.
The pay is indeed much better than this current job I'm holding but the amount of mental torture that was imposed on me was simply of unreasonable standards and despite my best efforts to endure and manage it, the amount simply kept increasing until one day the inevitable happened - I tendered.
My parents got worried about me for a while because despite the job market picking up I tendered at a time where it's approaching the end of the year and this usually means companies are doing their financial year end closing accounts. This also means they're not prone to increasing their headcount for staff because this would mean unnecessary and unwelcomed work for both the accounts and the HR payroll section. So naturally these companies would put aside any recruitment till early next yr. Indirectly it meant if I do not get a job soon, I would remain unemployed till Feb or even March next year. Not going to reflect good on my resume if as a fresh graduate I do not try to secure a job within 3 months. Thankfully, my supervisor said no and laughed it off because it was meant as a joke to tease the colleague who's leaving.
I took the explanation with a pinch of salt.
I guess the effects of being an experienced worker made me a little critical indeed. Lesson number one - Do not trust your fellow colleagues lightly because you are all aiming for the same promotion. Unless you are from different departments whose jobscopes will never clash with one another then perhaps the trust is more easily placed. However, they won't be able to dish advice that is as effective as a colleague who is in the same department and knows more appropriately what is useful advice and what are simply words of consolation.
Take advice from someone whom you can trust but knows little about what is exactly happening? Or take advice from someone who gives effective advice but unable to trust?
The burning question would be - Is the effectivenes for you? Or the colleague?
posted by Inarticulate at 8:57 PM
2 Comments:
thank god im young. thanks bloody god. when i was there (fruit company) i just got a hell lot of care and attention. i didnt get dragged into their politics. but there was so much going on and it was all small small stuff.
about taking advice... i'd choose the former over the latter.
Ummmm, what a tough world out there.... Oh well,if I'm asked the questions(About advice) I would probably choose to listen to both.It would be better than just listening to 1 side of the story...
Post a Comment
<< Home