One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.
– Elbert Hubbard, American writer, artist and philosopher
In my previous articles, in Part 1 and Part 2, I discussed two main reasons why we, not just in Malaysia, but in many places in the world, suffer a labour problem that greatly decreases productivity for the company and nation.
I spoke about a mis-aligned education system and proposed an apprenticeship-based system that saves the students and their parents a whole lot of money and time and gets them industry ready from get go. I also spoke about how governments need to appreciate the businesses that contribute to the wealth of the nation, and not make life difficult for them in various policies.
If you want companies to only hire Malaysians, and not foreigners, then it is not just the company’s responsibility to create a proper Malaysian workforce, if the education system and government policies fail.
In this article, I will discuss the third and fourth problem.
Families who mollycoddle their children and keep them subsidised and insulated in their homes, ‘safe’ from adulting, so that the new generation of youth does not feel a need to keep a job. They take on a job if it’s fun or if the ‘environment is right” whatever that is.
Families may actually believe they are doing their children a favour by mollycoddling them. They may be compensating for the hardships in their youth. “I worked so hard so I can give my children the luxury I didn’t have”.
But you need to balance the giving with a reality check too. When children are not taught the value of money, to prove themselves or work hard to gain something on their own, they luck out on the street-smartness that poorer kids easily absorb and adapt to.
In urban areas where concentration of jobs is at the highest, this contributes a lethal damage to the labour force. A whole generation of job seekers become utterly un-independent and have no fighting spirit. They give up too easily, every time life becomes a little too hard, because they never had it hard and don’t know how to navigate around falls, demands, disappointments and the ‘no’s.
When you have had everything, you want given to you, you never learn to go get it for yourself. Your survival skills are disengaged and these kids become like the little birds sitting in the nest opening their beaks and waiting for the worm to be dropped in. Even when they have gotten wings, they are too afraid to use the wings and fly away because complacency is so good and so comfortable. Generally, mommy birds kick the adulting birds out of the nest and force it to fly away, something we need to think about sometimes, if we want our children to become street smart.
When the rent, food, laundry, electric bills, water bills, phone bills are all paid for, the youth from these families are left to work only for passion. And passion then waxes and wanes according to how hard it is. Couple this with the continuous harping of mental health issues at the drop of a hat suggested by various agencies, many young people through strong powers of suggestion slide down the slippery road into anxiety over many things at work, that the hardened seniors would think are merely trivial.
Too many fresh graduates think they are not good enough when minor altercations happen, find working an extra hour too demanding, are unable to handle criticism because the parents have always told them they are the best and the list goes on.
And that brings me to the last anchor of ‘A labour problem’.
Movies, social media, mainstream media that propagate a myth that jobs are generally shitty, and that companies only drain your energy and suck your marrow, and you are better off doing nothing or running your own business.
There is too much negativity about working environments in social media that just adds uncalled for toxicity in the workplace.
You have too many articles in LinkedIn practically exhorting workers to rebel against something or other, suggesting that if you don’t have a ‘work-life’ balance, you are being cheated. Seriously, work-life balance is not a one size fit all situation.
I can love my work and integrate that into my life, and this is what will make me happy and productive. Thoughts like this are not popular though and get shouted down. For a gullible young workforce which lives on social media, this is employment seppuku.
Hollywood is no better, churning out movies where the employer is almost always evil and crooked, and the employee is almost always bullied.
This made-up toxic impression of labour creates a constant discord between employer and employee, to the detriment of the workforce. It’s in unity that we win.
And thus, we end the three-parter of ‘A labour problem’ and its various solutions. I shall now apply for the post of Minister of Human Resources. Lol.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune. Feedback can reach the writer at beatrice@ibrasiagroup.com
