Article from Straits Times Forum, June 25 2014

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The Straits Times
June 25 2014
Forum Page

Take charge of your own career

BOTH managers and workers need to change their mindsets for the workplace to have a good chance of becoming, in many sense, their second home ("Turning around disengaged workers"; Monday).

Managers need to start respecting others more, stop behaving as if they are superior and, in some extreme cases, cease the bullying.

While managers have more responsibilities and higher corporate authority, there is no reason to treat others as less than their equals.

Workers too need to stop thinking that their managers have to solve all their problems.

Take the example of the fish mongers at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington. They literally do a song and dance for their customers. Your job is what you make out of it. If you have tried and can't change things, move on. But don't expect others to make your job interesting; you owe it to yourself to do that.

The bottom line is if everyone knows that what he does will lead to a common desired outcome, be it profit-making or otherwise, there should be greater engagement at work.

There is no such thing as a bad company to work in, only bad managers. There is no such thing as "disengaged workers", only workers who do not bother to take charge of their own careers.


Paul Heng




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