Working from Home is Good

I have been blessed to work from home in the last 14+ years. And the benefits are good too - with medical benefits, EPF, SOCSO, free meals daily, paying of utilities and rental of the unit to the company. This is all possible because my boss used my name to open up an enterprise company and while he helmed the SME, I did all the computer, secretarial and admin work besides updating the website that brings in 90% of the business. Some particular 2nd sister-in-law is very jealous as I did not help her daughter in computers and employ her, but hey, I did not go to university for free either. I had to pay through my nose for the exorbitant fees and slowly pay back the student loan that I took month by month. My parents did not help me as much as my younger sisters where they had excess money to tour Europe and USA as a gift for graduating!

Planning to go to Dubai next year with someone special

Now I got bitten by the travel bug. I hope to travel to Dubai via Emirates with someone special and this time really enjoy my trip. Youngest sister was too bossy for my own good. Besides, I missed the helicopter ride just because dad poured cold water to my plans and brainwash youngest sister that it was dangerous to fly in a helicopter! What utter rubbish! The weather was excellent and well, I just missed the opportunity. Sister was supposed to pay for me, but somehow my parents rather she used the money to buy vitamins for them instead!

My youngest sister is going to China

My youngest sister will be going to Fuchou, China from Penang and transit in Hong Kong before flying to the destination. She will be there for 1 week for work together with her colleagues of about 6 of them. She is a very capable manager, able to play 'tai chi' and survive the office politics and manage people well. She is also busy attending weddings and friend's parent's funerals. Being a lector in her church, she is comfortable with public speaking and reading out the scriptures. Thereafter, we both will travel to New Zealand for holidays from 14th to 24th December 2017. Later on, after dinner, I will do the company work and then continue writing for Writer Bay which has so many assignments.

Might travel to KL tomorrow

I am happy working in my home office small office or abbreviated as SOHO. Early tomorrow morning, I might just follow my colleague to Rawang for a meeting and then he will drive back the same day at night thereafter. It is very rushed, but he has a lot of logistics and planning to do in Penang. There's going to be a new job that requires Autocad drawings of the various courts for the client, a PhD holder to view before he approves the project. Apparently, he is the head honcho for the private school. Later, on I shall go back to my parents' home to pass the RM 438 for the car maintenance of Myvi that dad drives. Very soon, it is monthly allowance giving the first of every month!

The retirement conundrum

NEXT year, about 100,000 workers who should have retired at 55 in the second-half of 2013 will finally leave the workforce at 60 years old.

In other words, after a period of five years where zero mandatory retirements took place – within the private sector at least – we will have some 100,000 workers leaving their jobs.

Recall, within the private sector, the retirement age was upped to 60 from 55 in 2013, when the Minimum Retirement Age Act kicked in.

Within the civil service, the minimum retirement age in the government service was increased gradually, from 55 to 56 in 2001, 58 in 2008 and eventually to 60 in 2012.

Exactly, what kind of implications can be expected from the sudden influx of retirees? Equally important, what are some of the measures that can be taken to mitigate the negative impact, if any?

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan says firstly, this will result in the re-opening of the replacement market, which has not been available in the last five years – but only to a certain extent.
“Every year, there are about 200,000 new graduates entering the job market with another 300,000 school leavers also entering the workforce, but this (retirees leaving their jobs) may not necessarily translate into increasing chances of these graduates getting jobs.

“Companies have become very careful in hiring now, and they may not fill up the positions (that the retirees will leave vacant) due to the prevailing weak economic conditions,” Shamsuddin tells StarBizWeek.

Will this affect productivity?

Yeah Kim Leng, a professor of economics at Sunway University Business School, says whether or not productivity will be affected is more company-specific than anything else.

“Companies will need to weigh out the cost versus benefit in their hiring decisions,” he says.

Having said that, it is difficult to quantify intangible costs and benefits.

The current unemployment rate in Malaysia stands at about 3.5%, translating to about 600,000 people being unemployed.

“The question is whether the retirees have enough retirement savings,” Yeah says.

To be sure, although the mandatory retirement is at 60, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal is still maintained at 55.

“What this (ageing population) could also mean is that the dependency ratio, which measures the number of dependants one has, will start to increase and on a macro level, this could pose a greater burden on the overall economy.”

According to Yeah’s back of the envelope calculations, to retire comfortably in the Klang Valley, one would need about RM5,000 a month, RM60,000 year or a total of RM1.2mil just for living expenses, assuming one life to about 80 years old. This is also on the assumption that there are no more debts to be serviced.

“If the lower-income people under the B40 category can move toward the middle-income group (M40), the financial burden of those who are being depended on will lessen as time goes by.”

According to Socio Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie, the demographic shift towards a higher proportion of the ageing population which he describes as “unprecedented”, threatens to impact productivity, economic output and economic welfare which requires a social, political and economic change at all levels.

Firstly, the vast numbers of experienced workers who retire from the labour force will cause capital to become scarce and result in reduced savings in pension funds, Lee says.

However, Sunway’s Yeah says that pension funds like the EPF already have surplus savings, which means that this is hardly an issue.

My TAT Test Results

Just click on the TAT test above to see my score more clearly that I just took this morning. It was taken from this link >> http://www.utpsyc.org/TATintro/LIWCTATresults.php. It is a Psychology and Language: Projective test:

Based on the image given in the link above, below is my article written for 10 minutes straight:

There are 2 ladies in a chemistry lab. One of them is observing while the other is filling a set of beakers with liquid from a pipette. They are wearing the standard white lab coats as in any chemistry lab. The lady doing the test has to be careful with the measurements to an accurate test.

The chemical compound could be hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid or even alkaline with Ph reading of more than 7 while acids have Ph readings of less than 7. The lower the reading, the more acidic and caustic the compound. The highest alkaline reading is Ph 14.

The lady observing is probably a student learning from her teacher or mentor in chemistry. Chemical engineering is a much sought after work and employment. Though there are not many chemistry graduates, it is a much sought after profession to do research and test out new products in a lab. New foods, ester, flavourings, and the like are discovered by chemical scientists with constant testing in a chemistry lab with different compounds.

Women tend to be more cautious and careful in their readings and their patience makes them suitable for lab testing and chemical research. One has to work alone most of the time and this is suitable for meticulous research assistants without any political struggles, unlike an office.

Need to write some articles later

I installed a free software to check for spellings, grammar, etc as I write and type on the go. It is a very useful tool to use and increases credibility and probability to get hired for writing articles as a higher pay. Otherwise, all your mistakes will show up and no writing is perfect without using this technology. My second sister had recommended me to install this software before, but I procrastinated then. Having installed it successfully, it has helped in my writing by leaps and bounds. And I am thankful for this little tip to help improve my writing to another level! There are many graduates working as freelance writers, such as yours truly on a part-time basis, whenever I am free and in the mood to write

In the company of her ’investments’

MOST people with entrepreneurial aspirations tend to forget that a big part of running a business is about managing people.

Acestar Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Natalie Sit was once like that.

When Sit founded her company in 2008, she thought she would be able to get by doing what she was good at.

“At the time, I thought business was about sales, and since I was good at sales, I thought I could handle it,” she said.

She soon realised that being a good employer and leader was just as important as being a good entrepreneur.

When Sit started her IT firm, she was only able to hire two workers. That meant she had to do most of the work on her own, from sales to deliveries and accounts, among other things. She became more of an operator rather than a business owner.

Sit (third from left) with her team at their recent company holiday in the Maldives.

Sit and her small team worked very hard to grow the company and the stress took a toll on all of them; Sit ended up having to take long medical leave twice and her employees resigned.

“I wasn’t a good leader at that time. Everything depended on me. I thought giving my employees a salary to work for me was good enough, but I didn’t build my team and I had no confidence in them,” she admitted.

When she came back from her second medical leave to an empty company, Sit considered quitting the business. But the support of her husband and friend spurred her to continue her journey as an entrepreneur.

Only this time, she aimed to do things differently.

“I became clearer about our vision and mission. Earlier, the leader wasn’t leading the organisation so the team didn’t know where the company was heading,” she said.

Sit attended a business course in the United States, which inspired her to build her team with the right culture in her company.

She started spending more time with her employees and looked into opportunities to train her staff and help them develop their potential. She makes it a point to get to know her employees on an individual level and remains connected with her team.

Sit says it’s important to provide direction for your employees so that they know where the company is headed.

By spending time with them, Sit was able to better assess their strengths to place them in relevant roles.

This also helps her find out what motivates them to do better.

“You need to put them in the right position to fully utilise their potential. You need to know their strengths and ask yourself whether you need this strength in the company or not. If yes, then develop them and send them for the right training,” she said.

Even company trips are opportunities to train her team.

Her employees take turns to plan the trips, including researching itineraries and logistics arrangements. They also take turns to be tour guides during the trips.

Sit said this gives them the exposure and experience to plan and organise events and also gives them confidence to carry plans out.

She also ensures that her team remains energetic and passionate about their work.

To start the week, the team at Acestar gathers for their Monday morning dance. It helps to get everyone at their peak energy level, said Sit.

The weekly dance apparently has worked out well for the team. In fact, it has worked so well that Sit often carries out a dance routine at Acestar’s events to get the participants pumped up.

“It’s not just about your business, but about your team,” she said.

When the team is taken care of, they will, in turn, take care of the clients, she said. This will ensure the business continues to do well.

Her new approach helped Acestar grow on better footing.

With a stronger team in place, Sit was able to explore other business-related activities.

But building a team is not a one-off effort, she added.

“Employees are not just about giving them a job and a salary. They are our biggest asset.

“We must provide a platform for people to gain confidence and grow. We need to enable our employees to be the next group of leaders,” she said.

Sit noted that Acestar’s practice is different from the IT industry norm.

For going the extra mile, Acestar won the Silver award for Best Employer in the Up to RM25mil revenue category at The Star Outstanding Business Awards 2016.

Sit also took home the Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the Up to RM25mil category.

“Being a business owner is not just about making money but about growing people. At the end of the day, people stay with you because they see a future here. Always invest in people, not just reward them,” she said.