Some of you may know that I’m currently in the middle of an internship. At the beginning I was really excited, knowing that my resume is going to get better plus I’ll be learning a thing or two here. But when I got here, everything changed. Things were not how I expect it to be. On my first day of work, everyone in the office was giving me a judgemental look and all of them were very cold to me. I thought to myself, what is wrong with this place, or maybe it’s just me because Australians are generally nicer to people, and honestly, you’d feel bad for not smiling to the waitresses or cashiers serving you over there. It was like a whole new level of culture shock for me because no one has ever treated me like that if I did nothing wrong. I can tell all of you that I tried communicating, but unfortunately most of them could only see me as a teen who doesn’t know her stuff (not sure why because I am sure they were once in my position, it’s not like they had a growth spurt or something and skipped the ages of 19-20) But I am an intern after all, I came here to learn stuff but oh well, some people are just shallow.

But as I worked longer in the company (this is my third week), I have come to notice that this had already been the office culture for a while. I sat for a whole day observing how people can shout from one side of the room to the other, or swearing almost every 5 minutes, or even talking rudely to one another. This is the unfortunate truth, but most local companies in Malaysia are like that. No one gets to leave at 5.30pm sharp. People here actually stay up till 9pm. As kids, we used to wonder why daddy would come home late, and some of us may have saw mommy getting worried, and some of us even had the honour of listening to the conversation mommy has with daddy talking about work. Now I know what the saying “married to your job” means. There is literally no time for you to go out and do your own things such as hobbies or some sport activities because by the time you’ve reached home, you will be dead tired and the next day you got to go to work early and the cycle continues, and when it comes to the weekend, all you want to do is sleep as much as you can before Monday.

Those from the ANU and has taken the MGMT 2100 module, you would know how rather simple that subject is, and it is indeed one of the easier modules provided by CBE, to us this subject’s entire syllabus is to a certain extent, common sense to most of us, other than the theory part of course. It’s so easy to solve exam questions or even do our coursework because whatever it is, we will go for the best management strategy we know. It’s an easy subject, yes, easy to score, but when it comes to application, I think majority had failed terribly. We studied how using a different tones in conversations would change everything you do, or even the spiral of silence theory, where people would not dare speak up if they feel like they belong to the minority or even the dual concern model, and we even had an assignment where we have to bring out the best management strategies we can think off to improve the working environment in a workplace. We did this all in year one, but the people here who are much older does not seem to even be able to apply a single management theory.

This whole system is not right. From what I’ve studied and observed this is not the right way to work or to manage workers. We are all humans, we need rest. Our brain naturally shuts down after a certain number of hours. This is clearly not the best way if the company wants to increase their productivity. We are only humans and because of that we are imperfect, unlike robots who can work 24/7. As much as we don’t like it, the fact is that we will reach our working limit. The brain shuts down automatically after a certain number of hours working or even studying because we do need to rest. As much as we try getting things fast, sometimes it’s better to do things at your own pace (not too slow, of course) in order to get the job done right. Would you rather submit an incomplete work or one that’s checked over? I hope this message reaches out to every manager/ future manager or soon-to-be office staff because despite the cruel reality the real world is offering to us, we can change that, we can change working environment. It’s even easier now because we can use examples for developed countries such as Sweden and Norway.

Not that I am a huge complainer because I am just a little concerned about the working environment. I am not going to compare us with the likes of Sweden or Norway because like they say you’ve got to compare an apple with an apple. I just want to make this better for everyone especially for those who is going out to work soon. No one deserves to feel lost or lonely. There are many ways that you could be a good sport at work.

Listen to whatever people have to say, and try not to argue before that person finish their sentences. Give them a chance to speak, even in an event where you disagree, at least keep your mouth shut until the latter has ended his/her sentence. Also, listen and see where the latter is coming from. Think of why he/she would say that, what situation they are currently at or are they PMS-ing? Listening will also allow the person speaking to feel a sense of accomplishment as they will feel that they have contributed their part.

 

This is a very important aspect in a workplace. The way you talk may impact the emotions of other people. If you are not pleased with a work your fellow worker has done, don’t just go shouting at him or her. Instead, you should suggest a meeting with that person and talk about the work they have done and after that, you can actually suggest a thing or two on how that person could improve their work in the future. Some people are more sensitive so it would be best if you could control the tone of your speech. Also, never give a look of frustration while talking to someone, because that person may feel insecure and guilty of what they have done. Some of you reading this may feel that this would be the loss of sensitive people because they can’t work under pressure. Yes, you are not wrong, but there is also this thing where you have to be mindful in whatever that comes out of your mouth. You wouldn’t know how much your words impact them. They may lose motivation when you raise your voice. Nevertheless, don’t ever give up on sensitive people because one day, they will succeed too!

 

To me, this is one of the major aspect to change the entire working environment. Smiling, simply smiling can brighten up one’s day no matter what he/she is feeling. Smiling is the most amazing thing in the world, it gives you a sense of hope and welcoming impression that may make you a happier person. Did you know that smiling uses up less energy than when you get angry? So, smile to the person sitting next to you now!

 

As a working professional, you should be familiar with your rights in the workplace. You must get to know what you can or cannot do, or who makes the decisions, what departments handle certain things and what decision can your department makes in the workplace. This would be hard if you have a very strict boss who expects you to follow his or her plans accordingly, but if you know your rights, you would be able to at least speak out and suggest certain ideas to your boss/manager.

 

Yes, you’ve got to learn how to speak out. It is not unusual if you are generally a shy person, but try to share your opinions. If you have an idea that you’d think could benefit the company, by all means, share it. Share the idea to your boss/manager. Don’t keep all your marvellous thoughts to yourself! Who knows, your ideas may come to life and the next thing you know, your boss may give you a promotion. If you aren’t happy with something, let the right people know. This does not mean you’re creating a scene for the company, it actually shows your concerns for the company and your feedback is vital to the company for improvement.

 

Team work has both its pros and cons. Some people are just not comfortable working as a team and prefer to work alone. In the real world, you don’t get to choose if you’d like to work alone or even choose your team members. Sometimes, you might not be able to get along with your teammates but it’s okay. Don’t just simply go around gossiping about that person to others for this stupid reason. In fact, try talking to that person and see where he/she is coming from. If you are unpleased with his/her attitude, it’s okay, you can try letting that person know it a nice manner. Sometimes you just got to compromise because some people just cannot change and you’ve just got to be strong. Believe me, most of the time it pays off working with people you don’t get along because it makes both parties more determined to do their work. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

 

And that is the end of my post! I have not decided on what my next post will be, but I will try to update my blog every week, so if you’re into the more underrated food outlets, fashion and lifestyle, this is the right page to be! I have found heaps of underrated places to be, so stay tuned! Ciao for now! x