Life long employment is a thing of the past. Job market is very volatile. In the past, we used to think public sector is very secured and a safe nest for long term employment. But no more. We are very aware that most of the Singapore preferred employers(public sectors) are shifting and practicing towards contract based employment terms. 2 years. 3 years. Fixed Term. Renewable. Very common in jobs classified these days. It's rather bothering. Last year I was surprised to see a close associate from a Public Department flipping classified during our lunch break. " Hey! Thinking of quitting and joining public sector like us? I asked him and told him to give up the idea. I shared with him how tough to stay afloat and the stress that we were having in order to please the bosses. The hard works that we put in Vs the recognition, the appreciation that we got...Well..I sat him down and shared the insight of private sectors' employee life. And if you happened to work in family run SME's ..God Bless You.( not all are bad but generally speaking...)
After doing SWOT (Strength, weakness, Opportunities & Threat) analysis with me and a frank discussion he confided that he was on a 3 years contract.
" Sean..You may think that we public servant are very prized to be one and very secured" "Now my contract is expiring in 5 months time but there is no talk that my contract would be renewed" And he went on saying he was in a dilemma as to whether to look for jobs or just wait and see. Apparently he tried to apply for some jobs in order to reduce his fear factors. Frighten he was. " I applied no less than 15 jobs in 3 months but the response was so negative" Well today he is happily working for a local MNC on permanent terms. What I want to say here is... the fear of being a term contracted worker.
Nowadays, Big Coporations are leading the way in terms of cost cutting, streamlining, restructuring or reengineering to stay competitive. Whatever the big and fabulous jargon,the bottom line cost is cuttin here, cost cutting there.So wages are being repackaged. Less AWS. Less Benefits and I think the worst is still to come.
I dont really know what the real reasons of creating contract employment are but my personal guess is that it's part of a strategy in maintaining the operating overhead LOW or rather from going up over the years. A contracted worker is paid a fixed package and no incremental. So if he or she is good, the contract can be renew with a minimum impact on costs. So even the workeks stay on for 10 years it doesn't matter much.
Well well...Guys be positive and we just do what we could do...Right! So here you go..Employers have their strategies to be competitive. So do we
The Strategies to stay employed..Add value to yourself.add value to your organization.
- Go extra mile for a customer or keep in touch with your customers as a way of building and maintaining relationships.
- Develop more ideas for saving money for the company.
- Stop problems before it turns out into catastrophe.
- Anticipate the needs of your boss.
- Teach someone a new skill.
- Volunteer for Leadership Opportunities.
- Develop and enhance your reputation for reliability.
- Seek new skills and learning opportunities.
- Be adaptable and embrace change.
- Make your boss look good by helping him accomplish his/her performance objectives.
Guys... Not difficult to do right. So look out for opportunities and be flexible. Add value to yourself and you will be a happy one..
All The Best
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