Singapore is a country whereby one must work for a living. The Singapore government does not believe in giving out social welfare benefits to those that do not work. At most, they would give out a small amount of cash to those that really cannot work due to disability or for reasons that make them incapable to find any job. The government believes that one must work in order to enjoy the benefits that Singapore has to provide. Therefore, most Singaporeans have to work until they are not able to work anymore. From nine to five, Singaporeans are indulged in work that they may have to do for the rest of their lives. Well, there maybe a lucky few that may not need to work because their partners are able to bring the bread home. As for the majority of Singaporeans, they may have to keep on working because the wages that they are earning may be barely enough for them to survive. For those, that are able to upgrade and earn a bigger salary, they may be able to retire early. Whether one is able to upgrade while one is working is another matter altogether. This issue will be addressed later on in this essay.
We are caught in a repetitive cycle of work because most work processors in government organisations and in some private companies are standardized. Some questions come to mind at this juncture. If work is repetitious, do workers enjoy their work? Do they have a chance to indulge in self-development at their work place? Why do workers submit themselves to boring and “tortuous” work if they are not able to improve themselves in their work place?
Singapore, like all other capitalistic countries, is rationalistic in nature. What do I mean by rationalistic in nature? They are rationalistic in nature by means of following certain set of rules and regulations. This applies to organisations set up in Singapore and other parts of the world. These rules and regulations make companies bureaucratic. These rules and regulations are important because they help the Singapore government to govern Singapore properly and orderly. It also helps in the proper running of businesses. Singaporeans have to follow these sets of rules and regulations. If not, they would be breaking the law and have to face the consequences. The same goes to those that are working in the various and bureaucratic organisations set up in Singapore. What’s the big deal of having rules and organisation? Isn’t that something that is given when you run a company or country? How do these rules and regulations affect people’s behaviour and the way they work? The following paragraphs will elaborate on these issues.
Rules and regulations are usually formulated by the “professional people” who are running their respective countries or organisations. They create the “attractive procedures” that govern our behaviour and the way we carry out our work. Most Singaporeans are groomed to be obedient at a very young age and do not question whether these rules and regulations are detrimental to their well-being. In every social environment, there is always the good and the bad. Therefore there will be rules and regulations that will be beneficial to some and to others not.
The “Professional people” or specialist, who set up the work procedures in how certain work should be done, actually adopted these work procedures when they were studying. Universities usually teach students how certain work, for example, accounting, should be done. They are taught to apply the same work procedures when they go out in the world and work. Therefore, the standardization of work actually starts when we are in school. Even the government set the standardization of work in order for government bodies to carry out work uniformly. These can be seen in uniform organisations, statutory boards and civil – service organisations.
Workers are surrounded by rules and regulations. They follow proper work procedures to do our work. Day in day out, nine to five, they follow the same work procedures. As mention before, some of them endure their “boring & torturous” job because what they earn may be barely enough for them to survive. The work that they do will become repetitious. They may perform their job just like a robot. Eventually they will become bored and alienated from their work. For example, a cashier cashing in the goods that customers purchase at a supermarket. The process of cashing in the goods never change. The cashier internalizes the process. The tools that she uses to cash in the goods and herself become one. She becomes alienated from her work. Companies may form unions to persuade their workers that their work life is normal when it is actually detrimental to their well-being and there is no need for self development. A false consciousness is formed among the workers.
On the bright side, more companies nowadays recognise the need of self – development and encourage it. However, even when self-development programs are being developed, some workers especially clerical staff (non-graduates) will still be stuck in their repetitious work, due to the fact that their education level is low and are earning a small salary. They would not have much chance to change to a better job. The only option is to further their studies. However, they also may not have enough money to upgrade themselves unless their companies are willing to sponsor them or they themselves find other means to pay for their education.
In some companies, eventhough one may have the means to further their studies, their company rules may make it difficult for them to do so. This is especially so when the subject that they are learning is not relevant to their work. Some workers lose their moral in studying because studying and working is not easy and if they fail because they were not able to obtain leave in order to study for their exams, their moral will further slide down south. They may all together give up studying thus thrashing the hope of ever getting a better job or promotion. This also puts a halt on their self-development. Therefore, companies should encourage and support those that want to study eventhough what they are studying may not be relevant to their job.
Their companies should grant them study leave for them eventhough what they are studying is not relevant to their jobs.Supervisors must have a change of mindset if these were to happen. They must realise that we are now in a ever changing world where the power of knowledge helps one to develop their self-development and help them to work better. They must not have the notion that if their workers upgrade themselves, they will take over their jobs. The rules and regulations that govern the way employees work also make them feel like they are in an iron cage. Some employees may feel this constrictive effect. They may not be able to find ways to make their work more interesting and effective. If they do, their supervisors may not like it. This is especially so for employees whose supervisors go by the book. Those in the accountancy department are mostly to portray this kind of behaviour. However, I am not saying that all organisations do not have avenues for their employees to make suggestions about ways to improve their work and how they can upgrade themselves. Even if companies have avenues for suggestion making, supervisors must also have an open mindset to implement the suggestions that are valid and feasible to implement.
Therefore rules and regulations are a must for the smooth running of a company or country. These rules and regulations may make employees feel alienated from their work or make them feel like they are in an iron cage. In order to counter these negative effects that will affect workers performances, employees must have a say in the work processors. They must be able to suggest changes that can be made to their work processors so that they will be able to perform effectively. There must also be flexibility in a company. For example, employees should be granted study leave for the subjects that they are studying eventhough it may not be relevant to their jobs. Supervisors must adopt an open mindset and encourage their workers to study and upgrade themselves. Employees must be given a chance for job rotation because some employees may become bored of doing the same kind of job for many years or it may be due to the fact that the job that some employees indulge do not match in what they specialise in. For example, an employee specialising in mass communication but is doing finance work. He or she may feel better off doing work regarding about mass communication. Therefore he or she should be allowed to job rotate.
For all these changes to take place, companies must adopt the correct working culture for their employees so that they would work effectively and not suffer from alienation from their work or even feel like they are in an iron cage. If workers feel alienated from their work or feel that they are in an iron cage, their self-esteem may dive south. The situation worsens if these employees are not given a chance to engage in self- development. Their thinking processors may fade and their brains may die a natural death. Ever wondered why at times you can see people doing things automatically without thinking. Most likely they are working in a government body or a company where it’s rules and regulations are rigid and non-flexible. They may not be able to improve themselves. I hope in the future all companies will become more flexible and allow their employees to indulge in self-development and upgrade themselves for better work opportunities and to earn higher salaries.
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