Thursday, June 28, 2007
Work Politics
No matter where you work at, there are bound to be some sort of work politics. I've learnt that its unavoidable and something that we'll have to live with. From the job i had after sec 4 to SIP job to my current job, i have witnessed a fair share of work politics. It's surely not all rosy and nice of course.
Most of the incidents were not so bad and didnt affect me that much. However last week I was the star of a work politic case. There's this new staff who was posted to the school. One of the office staff asked me if i have met her and all that. Then she say "She's more friendly than you. You better buck up ah" Ouch, thanks for the slap on the face ah - it stings. How am i to know theres an internal competition to see who's the most friendly of us all. Its all pretty silly but i'll be lying if i say i wasn't at least a bit affected by the remark. Maybe she dont mean it in a bad way but its better to shut up if you can't be tactful when you speak.
I'll be the first to admit that i may appear to be not as friendly to certain staff. I'm relatively shy la, ok. I dont go around talking to every single person and i need time to open up with people. So usually i'll just smile and say hello to the staff. And i'll talk more to those i'm comfortable with like the lab tech, Muhaini and few other teachers. But hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and i respect that.What i dont get is, everyone has different personalities what. So theres bound to be people who are more outgoing and friendly than me. Is there a need to 'buck up'? So i should purposely be more friendly so that i'll be MOST friendly?? Isnt that some sort like being a hypocrite because you are not 100% sincere in doing so? How do you even define 'friendly'? It's hard to say.
Another common work politic is when people tell me to be aware of this person, dont talk too much to that person blah blah blah. it gets tiresome sometimes. It's like being in the middle of a tug-of-war. Person A tell me bad stuff about person B. Then person B tell me bad stuff about Person A. Shake hands and be friends already! The funny thing is that Person A and B has similar personalities - they want things done their way. So that's probably why they can't get along. Clash of personalities, dude! It's inevitable. I'm pretty close to person A and i dont wish to hurt the person's feeling by befriending person B. But i still talk to person B because my work requires me to liase with this person. Eeee, boo to politics. It brings about all these mess.
There are a few other politics. But i wouldn't want to cause a further increase to the number of unemployed individuals - because Syafiqah made them too scared to go to work with all the work politics she has listed. Heh. Like i'd make such a big impact eh.
Aside from all those work politics, im pretty much enjoying working life. There are some moments where i dont feel like going to work and dread doing things at work, but good thing those are temporary. It's probably PMS taking over.
This week the kids are back from their school holidays. The sounds of noisy kids shouting and laughing is somehow welcoming, after 1 month of no such sounds. And i have to bid goodbye to free, blog-hopping, radio-listening, doing nothing uselful days. Last week was the busiest week i've had since my first day at work. We had to prepare resources for science practical test for p3-p6. And also pre-pract test. Good thing we only had to prepare 45 sets for each level. But i heard we have to pack i teaspoon of powder to about 2000 plastic bags. so yah, that'll be fun. heh. Me and the lab tech also have to take turns to be at the classes when they are having their practical tests to assist the teachers. I dont remember having any practical tests during primary school.
And this week there were 2 workshops for teachers over 4 days. And since i am the science coordiantor i have to coordinate those 2 workshops. The process was tedious. There so many things to take care of - emailing participants to remind them, refreshments, preparation of notes, reading materials, preparation of attendance list and signages. I'm super glad it's over. Phew-ness. But there's still financial matters to settle come monday. These workshops are part of the reason why i've been dreading work for the past few weeks. I'm not exactly the type who organizes events so it was quite a struggle for me initially. I have to liase with alot of people, send alot of emails and make alot of phonecalls. But i've learnt to embrace new challenges and obstacles. Because i believe it'll help one grow as a person. You may even pick up new skills along the way. Like now, after making numerous number of phone calls, i'm not as afraid to make phone calls and talk to strangers anymore. And i'm beginning to believe that my confidence have grown, albeit a little at a time. I guess the most important thing is to take the positives fromt the things we do. And when you dislike a task and would rather skip it, think about the aftermath of the task, when it's all done and settle. The feeling is awesome, i tell you. Like when the 2 workshops went relatively smoothly, i was sooo happy. So the feeling will be gone after only a short while when you are given another task. that's part and parcels of life afterall.
Most of the incidents were not so bad and didnt affect me that much. However last week I was the star of a work politic case. There's this new staff who was posted to the school. One of the office staff asked me if i have met her and all that. Then she say "She's more friendly than you. You better buck up ah" Ouch, thanks for the slap on the face ah - it stings. How am i to know theres an internal competition to see who's the most friendly of us all. Its all pretty silly but i'll be lying if i say i wasn't at least a bit affected by the remark. Maybe she dont mean it in a bad way but its better to shut up if you can't be tactful when you speak.
I'll be the first to admit that i may appear to be not as friendly to certain staff. I'm relatively shy la, ok. I dont go around talking to every single person and i need time to open up with people. So usually i'll just smile and say hello to the staff. And i'll talk more to those i'm comfortable with like the lab tech, Muhaini and few other teachers. But hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and i respect that.What i dont get is, everyone has different personalities what. So theres bound to be people who are more outgoing and friendly than me. Is there a need to 'buck up'? So i should purposely be more friendly so that i'll be MOST friendly?? Isnt that some sort like being a hypocrite because you are not 100% sincere in doing so? How do you even define 'friendly'? It's hard to say.
Another common work politic is when people tell me to be aware of this person, dont talk too much to that person blah blah blah. it gets tiresome sometimes. It's like being in the middle of a tug-of-war. Person A tell me bad stuff about person B. Then person B tell me bad stuff about Person A. Shake hands and be friends already! The funny thing is that Person A and B has similar personalities - they want things done their way. So that's probably why they can't get along. Clash of personalities, dude! It's inevitable. I'm pretty close to person A and i dont wish to hurt the person's feeling by befriending person B. But i still talk to person B because my work requires me to liase with this person. Eeee, boo to politics. It brings about all these mess.
There are a few other politics. But i wouldn't want to cause a further increase to the number of unemployed individuals - because Syafiqah made them too scared to go to work with all the work politics she has listed. Heh. Like i'd make such a big impact eh.
Aside from all those work politics, im pretty much enjoying working life. There are some moments where i dont feel like going to work and dread doing things at work, but good thing those are temporary. It's probably PMS taking over.
This week the kids are back from their school holidays. The sounds of noisy kids shouting and laughing is somehow welcoming, after 1 month of no such sounds. And i have to bid goodbye to free, blog-hopping, radio-listening, doing nothing uselful days. Last week was the busiest week i've had since my first day at work. We had to prepare resources for science practical test for p3-p6. And also pre-pract test. Good thing we only had to prepare 45 sets for each level. But i heard we have to pack i teaspoon of powder to about 2000 plastic bags. so yah, that'll be fun. heh. Me and the lab tech also have to take turns to be at the classes when they are having their practical tests to assist the teachers. I dont remember having any practical tests during primary school.
And this week there were 2 workshops for teachers over 4 days. And since i am the science coordiantor i have to coordinate those 2 workshops. The process was tedious. There so many things to take care of - emailing participants to remind them, refreshments, preparation of notes, reading materials, preparation of attendance list and signages. I'm super glad it's over. Phew-ness. But there's still financial matters to settle come monday. These workshops are part of the reason why i've been dreading work for the past few weeks. I'm not exactly the type who organizes events so it was quite a struggle for me initially. I have to liase with alot of people, send alot of emails and make alot of phonecalls. But i've learnt to embrace new challenges and obstacles. Because i believe it'll help one grow as a person. You may even pick up new skills along the way. Like now, after making numerous number of phone calls, i'm not as afraid to make phone calls and talk to strangers anymore. And i'm beginning to believe that my confidence have grown, albeit a little at a time. I guess the most important thing is to take the positives fromt the things we do. And when you dislike a task and would rather skip it, think about the aftermath of the task, when it's all done and settle. The feeling is awesome, i tell you. Like when the 2 workshops went relatively smoothly, i was sooo happy. So the feeling will be gone after only a short while when you are given another task. that's part and parcels of life afterall.
Labels: work