Yes, tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve! Before we are even finished with the twelve days of Christmas and the new English year, we are bombarded with reminders out there [...]]]>

It’s that time of the year when we reflect on what we have done for the whole year and then contemplate our resolutions for the coming new year.

Yes, tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve! Before we are even finished with the twelve days of Christmas and the new English year, we are bombarded with reminders out there in the neighbourhood shops and shopping centres that Chinese New Year is also just round the corner, for the Year of the Goat new year greeting cards and decorations have come out in full force in these places.

As a Late Baby Boomer*, I have been privileged to witness and to experience what Chinese New Year has been like through the years – from the 60s to the 70s, then the 80s and 90s and in the debuting years of the new millennium. I particularly relish the fact that I was able to play with firecrackers in the 60s right through to 1972 when the ban came into effect.

Now that’s a privilege youngsters nowadays are not privy to. But, as I begin to feel sorry for these youngsters, I suddenly remember that in my time as a youngster, I didn’t quite have the trappings that modern-day lifestyle has provided for youngsters of today – things like, jeans, T-shirts, PCs, handphones, McDonald’s, Play Station, etc. The list goes on and on.

Yes! Indeed, I should envy these youngsters, for they are born in the right time – of peace, prosperity and progress here in Singapore – and need not see or experience the sufferings of those born in an earlier timespace – people who had to live life in a different world – of world wars, and civil unrest.

Do the youngsters think they are pretty lucky, then? I doubt so. Many of them do not have time for such thoughts. They are caught up in the struggle for ownership of handphones and other whatnots. They are busy comparing what others have that they do not have and yearn for more buying power, much to the chagrin of their parents.
 
So what’s the future for Singapore when our young are more interested in their own gains than pondering about our island’s future? Is the competition for material benefits just a passing fad in that tumultuous teenage period or is it a symptom of a disease that will plague our youngsters of today in Singapore when they come of age?

Only time will tell, but we simply do not have that privilege of waiting, for statistics are against us. In the 1970s, when I was a teenager, for every one (1)** old person over 60 years old in Singapore, there were more than eight (8) economically active people – thanks to the post-war baby boom from 1947 to 1964.
 
And in 2030, when I will be in my 70s, for every one (1)** old person over 60 years old, there will only be 2 economically active persons supporting that person. Now that’s a heavy burden for the youngsters of today to shoulder when they join the employment market.
We certainly can’t stop time. But, we can change the perceptions of our young – before it’s too late. Already, the Government is making it compulsory for those at school to do project work. Now, that spells good news for the Baby Boomers. With exposure to the community, these young minds stand a chance of being broadened. Think of it not as a brainwashing of their minds, but rather, as a nurturing of the correct attitudes so that they will more than spare a thought for others, especially the elderly.

That’s certainly a step in the right direction. But, we, as parents, need to let go of our instinctive urge (yes, we do want them to have what we didn’t have before) to spoil our kids. We should not give in to their every whim and fancy but stand firm. This way, we will not do harm to the Government’s efforts at imbuing our young with the correct mindset to take care of us when we grow old – for we will grow old.

So my new year resolution is pretty straightforward. I hope to see our young thinking of others first before they think of themselves. It’s another 30 years or so before the 2030s; I believe our young can come around.

Have a wonderful end of the year!

————————————–
*Pre-War/War-time cohort: 1935 – 1946
*Early baby boom cohort: 1947 – 1954
*Late baby boom cohort: 1955 – 1964
*Statistics quoted from The Baby Boomers in Singapore (June 2000)
**Statistics quoted from The Elderly in Singapore (June 1988)

“Enjoy the present, Treasure the past and Embrace the future!” – this line sort of sums up what type of attitude we should adopt as we usher in [...]]]>

It’s that time of the year again, when we think up quotations to get us into the right mood for stepping across the threshold into the new year.

“Enjoy the present, Treasure the past and Embrace the future!” – this line sort of sums up what type of attitude we should adopt as we usher in 2002.

First of all, know that it is a privilege to be able to wake up to a new day on 1 Jan 2002. It’s something all of us take for granted, but let us not forget, some of us may not get to cross over the old year to greet the new year.

To those who, for some reason or other, can’t be around in the new year, I say Good Luck to you wherever destiny may take you. For the rest of us who should have no reason not to be around in the new year, I say – Happy New Year!

Only make sure that today you do not make careless mistakes, such as getting yourself drunk and then driving yourself or your loved ones home, which runs smack in the path of your smooth crossover to the new year.

Some of you may find my warning downright sickening, sort of dampening everyone’s spirits on the eve of an important festive occasion. But, I say this – we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to be around. So, don’t short-change your life over a momentary folly for the sake of fun during New Year’s Eve!

By all means, have fun but safely. So, if you drink, don’t drive and if you are driving, don’t drink – take a cab home!

Happy New Year!

In fact, some companies which previously closed their offices on Christmas eve, today open them for half-a-day much to the chagrin of their employees.

But, employees should take it in their [...]]]>

It’s Christmas eve today! We are not into good times this Year of the Snake so today may not be a day-off for many firms here.

In fact, some companies which previously closed their offices on Christmas eve, today open them for half-a-day much to the chagrin of their employees.

But, employees should take it in their stride as now is not a good time to make their hackles rise over a small matter.

Just take a look at some 435 United Overseas Bank employees who were retrenched before the week was out. The bank was asked to delay retrenchment till after the Chinese New Year next February, but a few days after its merger with Overseas Union Bank was approved on 18 Dec 2001, it went ahead with the retrenchment exercise. And it is said that more staff cuts are in the making for next year at the bank.

The retrenchment exercise was unavoidable. It is better that the bank carries out the exercise now in bad times rather than carry the burden of a bloated enterprise in this Internet age. This way, the bank has a better chance of competing at a time when market forces compel the Government to loosen its hold on the banking sector to allow more foreign banks to share the pie with local banks.

Also, the bank had waited till it had settled the retrenchment benefits with both unions, the SBOA and SBEU, before axing its staff. I don’t think UOB staff who were retrenched should complain. That they are axed now rather than two months down the road gives them more chances to secure employment elsewhere as companies traditionally anticipate staff resignations at the end of the year after bonuses are collected and therefore will recruit staff.

Moreover, staff made redundant do not have to fight with polytechnic and university students who are graduating later in the new year and thus providing more competition for available new jobs.

It’s not the best of times now but isn’t it better to move off and start the new year afresh? Remember – no one owes us a living, not the Government, and certainly not our employer. Those in their forties will find it more difficult to adjust but adjust they must as the New Economy age frowns on life-long job security. Employees should not think of being with a single employer for the whole of their career.

Rather, employees should adopt the stance of an entrepreneur and be resilient and marketable. That means arming themselves with New Economy skills, such as computer literacy; making sure their terms are equitable before signing up with new employers; looking at fixed-term employment contracts of three or five years; and moving ahead with the tide, not against it – the New Economy will see more job openings in the services sector, such as tourism, hospitality and events management, and, yes, finance (as we continue to draw in safe funds from neighbouring countries).

So, don’t spend time waiting for the new year to come before doing anything – UOB certainly didn’t. Act now, as UOB has acted, to secure your own future – be resilient and marketable.

Have a Merry Christmas!