Is it possible to leave on the dot once the work day is over?
How many of us actually do that? And those who did leave on the dot, what are they viewed as?
Clock watchers! And employers and bosses hated that!
Frankly, in the local work culture, those who left on the dot at 6pm or whenever, the work day ended are viewed as slackers.
Personally I dun leave on the dot. Not during the first year on the job. I left about 20-30 mins after the official day ended.
And once, I am more "grounded" into the work culture, I left on the dot!
Frankly, I think people who worked late are inefficient and incompetent, not to mention unproductive.
I got a friend who was in middle management. He worked late every day. And I observed that during working hours, he would slack, often walking around and chatting with colleagues. And he only started work after every one left the office. And no, he could not claim overtime pay due to his position. He just liked to stay in the office.
How fake is that! If you could finish your work, why bother to stay back to work after office hours?
Work is never ending. There is always tomorrow. Work can wait!
After all, we have never heard of someone saying on their deathbed that they wished they had spend more time on work!
------------------------
The New Paper
17 Aug 2008
It's 6pm, quick, go home
By Kane Cunico
WE work too hard and then we die. I know it sounds morbid, but death has been on my mind lately.
I'm scared of death. Not my death, but the deaths of those around me. To deal with the deaths of those close to me is something I am unable to brace myself for.
My questioning the use-by date of life started when the subject about making babies resurfaced in Parliament last month.
There were suggestions that employers and the Government take steps to encourage people to have kids by adopting longer paid maternity leave and perhaps even paid paternity leave, for example.
The reason? That couples would have more time to spend with each other and spend quality time with their newborn.
And through the debate, I saw those around me, myself included, spending too much time at the office. Quality time outside of work became non-existent.
And then I started worrying about death when my best friend lost her parents in a car crash three weeks after her wedding. It was something I was unable to deal with - seeing my best friend suffer.
How then will I deal with it when someone close to me passes?
Saying that I'm busy with work has become an easy yet valid excuse to turn down social occasions with friends and family. Problem is, I love my job. But will I regret it?
Miss Irene Hoe, an editorial consultant, told me the flip side of getting lost in the joy of our jobs and neglecting the world outside our cubicles. Back in her days in the newsroom, her job pretty much took up most of her life.
But when some of her friends died over the years, taking with them the unfulfilled dreams and plans that MissHoe had made with them, she realised that her work had sucked enough of her social life - something she unconsciously neglected over time.
So the parental-leave debate is more than just about making babies.
MAKE TIME
It's really simple: Make quality time in your life for the ones you love, for a start at least.
But how many of us do that? How many of us feel guilty when we are the first to leave the office, or guilty because we want to take our leave?
How many of us are like a training and development executive who wanted to be known only as MrsTan? She had to re-negotiate with her ex-boss for weeks on end so she wouldn't have to go to work a day before her wedding.
But when she got her wish, she said she 'felt guilty'.
And how many 'extra' hours do we put in? Longer work hours do not necessarily get you a badge of honour.
Before we start wondering how the nation should start getting jiggy with it, we might want to evaluate just how much time our work takes us away from our personal lives. Maybe then, one should start thinking of moving on to babies.
So, if it's 6pm and you've finished your work for the day, and your colleagues do not need a hand from you, pack up and leave.
Someone you love on the outside is waiting for you.
How many of us actually do that? And those who did leave on the dot, what are they viewed as?
Clock watchers! And employers and bosses hated that!
Frankly, in the local work culture, those who left on the dot at 6pm or whenever, the work day ended are viewed as slackers.
Personally I dun leave on the dot. Not during the first year on the job. I left about 20-30 mins after the official day ended.
And once, I am more "grounded" into the work culture, I left on the dot!
Frankly, I think people who worked late are inefficient and incompetent, not to mention unproductive.
I got a friend who was in middle management. He worked late every day. And I observed that during working hours, he would slack, often walking around and chatting with colleagues. And he only started work after every one left the office. And no, he could not claim overtime pay due to his position. He just liked to stay in the office.
How fake is that! If you could finish your work, why bother to stay back to work after office hours?
Work is never ending. There is always tomorrow. Work can wait!
After all, we have never heard of someone saying on their deathbed that they wished they had spend more time on work!
------------------------
The New Paper
17 Aug 2008
It's 6pm, quick, go home
By Kane Cunico
WE work too hard and then we die. I know it sounds morbid, but death has been on my mind lately.
I'm scared of death. Not my death, but the deaths of those around me. To deal with the deaths of those close to me is something I am unable to brace myself for.
My questioning the use-by date of life started when the subject about making babies resurfaced in Parliament last month.
There were suggestions that employers and the Government take steps to encourage people to have kids by adopting longer paid maternity leave and perhaps even paid paternity leave, for example.
The reason? That couples would have more time to spend with each other and spend quality time with their newborn.
And through the debate, I saw those around me, myself included, spending too much time at the office. Quality time outside of work became non-existent.
And then I started worrying about death when my best friend lost her parents in a car crash three weeks after her wedding. It was something I was unable to deal with - seeing my best friend suffer.
How then will I deal with it when someone close to me passes?
Saying that I'm busy with work has become an easy yet valid excuse to turn down social occasions with friends and family. Problem is, I love my job. But will I regret it?
Miss Irene Hoe, an editorial consultant, told me the flip side of getting lost in the joy of our jobs and neglecting the world outside our cubicles. Back in her days in the newsroom, her job pretty much took up most of her life.
But when some of her friends died over the years, taking with them the unfulfilled dreams and plans that MissHoe had made with them, she realised that her work had sucked enough of her social life - something she unconsciously neglected over time.
So the parental-leave debate is more than just about making babies.
MAKE TIME
It's really simple: Make quality time in your life for the ones you love, for a start at least.
But how many of us do that? How many of us feel guilty when we are the first to leave the office, or guilty because we want to take our leave?
How many of us are like a training and development executive who wanted to be known only as MrsTan? She had to re-negotiate with her ex-boss for weeks on end so she wouldn't have to go to work a day before her wedding.
But when she got her wish, she said she 'felt guilty'.
And how many 'extra' hours do we put in? Longer work hours do not necessarily get you a badge of honour.
Before we start wondering how the nation should start getting jiggy with it, we might want to evaluate just how much time our work takes us away from our personal lives. Maybe then, one should start thinking of moving on to babies.
So, if it's 6pm and you've finished your work for the day, and your colleagues do not need a hand from you, pack up and leave.
Someone you love on the outside is waiting for you.
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