i) Madam Can’t Seem To Switch
“Who does he think I am?” She grumbled at a tone that Johnny can hear her. Clare was following Johnny to car park to get some stuff from her car.
This afternoon, Clare helped the boss to organize the cruise trip for employees. Sort of a company year-end event before entering a new year. Operation employees enjoyed themselves at the sea, followed with some karaoke singing and drinking spree. Everyone had a good time. Time flew. Time to get home. Now, the boat boarded its parking spot and everyone gathered at the boardwalk.
Johnny wanted to take his leave first; he bid goodbye to the rest of the colleagues. Choo suddenly jumped from the seat and called for Johnny. “Wait! Johnny! My bag is in your car.” With Clare followed Johnny, Choo spontaneously asked if she can help to get his bag from Johnny’s car for him instead. “Clare will help me get my bag!” Choo shouted to Johnny who has walked quite a distance from the boardwalk now. “Alright. Bye.” Johnny waved to Choo and continued walking to car park.
With what he just heard from Clare, Johnny felt awkward and looked away, pretended to hear nothing.
Later on, our Human Resources Officer, Clare returned from car park and continued helping her husband to clean their boat. “Boss, where to put this bucket?” One employee asked the boss if that item needs to be thrown or put back to his boat.
“Just put beneath the cushion seat, will do. Thanks.” Boss replied to Jaya.
There seemed to be much cleaning work needed after each boat cruise. That was new to everyone. Not anyone can own a boat in Singapore. Boss was so kind to invite his employees to join him on a cruise event. Not many aware that, actually, boat owner has to ignite the engine and drive their boat as a way of maintenance, at least once a week. So, boss has just killed two birds with one stone.
“Dear, I booked two cabs to send them home.” Clare talked to her husband. “Four of you in a car; and three of you in another car. Okay?” She gave instruction to the employees. “Thank you, boss! Thank you, Clare!” Choo also joined the colleagues heading back to their homes, respectively.
A week later, Johnny happened to join the lunch with colleagues. He found the right moment to talk to Choo.
“That day was fun. It’s been years since I last swam in the open sea.” Choo said to Johnny. Most of the employees were still overwhelmed by that cruise trip. “Yeah, Jaya almost drunk himself! Ha-ha…” Johnny added. “Choo, I think I should tell you this one thing. It was on that evening as well.” Johnny said. Choo looked at him and waited for Johnny to continue. “Remember that night, you asked Clare to help you with your bag? She said this afterwards…” Johnny explained to Choo who didn’t know that he had accidentally offended madam.
“What?!? I did ask beforehand if she could help me with the bag.” Choo’s eyes were wide opened; he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
“Well, she can’t take it.” Johnny added.
“Seems like she can’t switch her roles.” Janet joined in the conversation. Three of them continued with coffee after the meals. “She still holds on to the lady boss’s role even though they had already sold their company’s shares to current shareholders.”
Janet was there at that company event as well and she didn’t find anything wrong with such a small request that Choo has asked from Clare.
“That was five years ago, right? And now, boss takes the MD position. Unbelievable.” Choo felt the injustice accusation Clare had on him.
“Maybe not many aware that director is also serve as an employee of the company. They could be shacked by shareholders if they can’t perform, you know?” Janet shared some basic corporate knowledge to her fellow non-finance colleagues.
“Not easy to switch, I guess.” Johnny took a sip of the black coffee.
“But aren’t HR supposed to be neutral ones among all colleagues and departments? Jeez…” Disappointed Choo finished his coffee in one go.
“Ha-ha… which side would she lean towards? The boss or the employees? That’d be a tough call.” “Let’s go, else madam will complain if we don’t get back to office within 1-hour lunch.” Janet suggested.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.” Johnny finished his coffee and they went back to office. They took 10-minute more for today’s lunch.
(Should be ‘safe’, right…? Who knows what mood madam has today.)
Poor Choo thought to himself while looked left and right searching if HR madam was around ‘monitoring’ everyone’s punctuality at work.
ii) Boss Can’t Seem To Switch (as well…)
“Boss, are you ready with the report? We’d need to send it today.” Janet approached boss to follow-up on a report that they need to submit by the deadline. “I have off-site meetings.” He went off to attend a meeting with customer.
(So… What now? Will he send or delay again?) Janet has no clue how to reply to APAC finance team if they question on this report. It’s already the fifth year they have sold the company to MNC. So, we have a bunch of deadlines to submit various reports to the group.
(But boss can’t seem to understand the importance of us submitting report per deadlines… I have to take the hit whenever APAC finance team ‘chase’ for the reports.) Janet let out a heavy sigh.
She walked back to her office hoping that no incoming message from APAC finance team regarding this matter.
“Let him come and check. That would be his ‘baby’ then.” Boss made his opinion clear one day when Janet reminded him on the needs to get the new operation system up and running. It has been one year plus since APAC engineers came down to train the local operation team on this new system. Yet, only one or two operation guys were using it. Issues faced but no one followed up and solved it.
(Literally, no one see the needs to implement this new system; even the boss himself!) Janet thought to herself. (And here he said, let Paul come and see the progress of the new system, it would then become his ‘baby’?!? What nonsense are you talking about, boss…)
Janet finished washing her coffee mug and left the pantry area. What a frustrating conversation there.
(Boss… You are the MD for this local site and yet you ignore your roles and responsibilities! You’re supposed taking the lead to push and make sure the whole operation team at this local site implement and use the new operation system. Paul’s ‘baby’. Ha! Paul being the APAC Operation Director, he is overseeing APAC countries’ operation; that doesn’t mean that he has to spoon feed and do everything for you. Hello? He has sent his engineers to give a bunch of training sessions to your team already.) Janet’s monkey mind was full of ‘what on earth’ conversation to herself.
“This is a complaint system.” Boss quoted this during the meeting. “What did you just say? Complaint system?” Paul, the APAC Operation Director who visited this local site, questioned boss what he just heard. “Nope, this is a system to help improving the working area and work safety.” He further explained to boss and everyone in the meeting room. This was an introduction meeting organized by Paul with the aim to launch another new apps to local site.
(Different mindset in these two persons was obviously emitted.) Johnny who was also in the meeting, thought so. He kept quiet; not to meddle in such conflicting conversation.
To this local boss who has been running his own business for many years; he built his business from scratch in his own management way. ‘Only spend on significant items or area. Save money for operation use and boost the revenue’ seemed to be his principles of running a business. Now, with him no long being the shareholder but managing director of this local site, a new direction from the headquarter of this MNC – a new apps that emphasized on safety at work place and welfare of employee. Each and every employee was encouraged to voice up any issue they spotted in their work place and request management to improve the needed.
Johnny being the safety office for local site was in an awkward situation. He was assigned by Paul to handle the safety matters for this local site and to ensure local employees raise a certain numbers of ticket in this new apps, on monthly basis. And here, local boss obviously disagreed to the existence of this apps. (Oh my goodness, not raise any, I’d be questioned by Paul. Raise tickets, boss will show me his ‘black face’. My days would get tougher now…) Johnny looked at those two superiors that he reported to. (Could you two reach a compromise arrangement, please?)
“We are all on the same boat. If physical stock take has any issue spotted by the external auditor, that’s not good.” Janet said to boss.
“Just write off the stock then.” Boss replied her with a solution to any missing stock found during the physical stock take.
“It’s not that simple. The impact is more than that. Auditor will put their finding in our audit report that they spotted weakness in our stock management, and all directors and shareholders will read this report. That’d be huge impact to our company. All of us will be questioned.” She explained further. “Can we get warehouse team to do a full stock count before auditor’s visit?”
“Sure, I’d tell them to do that.” Boss agreed to this suggestion.
During the physical stock take exercise together with external auditor, still, a bunch of stock items not tally with the report… (What the hxll… Did they really carry out full stock take beforehand?) Janet was having headache knowing she would have to reconcile and explain load of questions from auditor next. (Is this the level of instructions and monitoring you’d do, boss?) Janet even had to involve herself into the stock reconciling work with the warehouse team before she could form an answer to auditor.
“Mindset is hardcore of a person. Not easy for one to change. I have tried; you have tried, to explain to boss. We all tried to help him but he can’t seem to be able to comprehend the situation he is in and the needs for him to change his way of doing things and his mindset.” Johnny said when he took a short coffee break at Janet’s office. “How much longer do you need to realize and adapt to the way of MNC doing things? Five years? Ten years?” She asked but didn’t expect a reply from Johnny.
A short coffee break was very much needed for these two employees that had worked in MNCs before. The level of mental stress they felt and the work stress they had to face were massive yet can never be seen and understood by their local boss.