Apparently, my presentation slides were not the latest version which I sent to the company admin. This turned out to be a good thing because, this way, my talk ended on time and it might turn out out to be more draggy otherwise.
Just thought I'd share information about the missing slides and in the meantime showcase to the more intermediate readers the depth of research we go to prepare our slides. This is not something you can read about even if you combed all the Wiley Finance books or read all the self-help improvement books on Amazon.
The material is from KB Chan's "Work Stress among six professional groups : the Singapore Experience" written in 2000 in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
- The most stressful profession is Teacher followed by Lawyer followed by Engineer. Maybe after a couple of years you will find me getting a diploma in NIE. ( Just kidding !)
- Generally speaking, folks hate a workplace where the boss does not support your work and you have horribly political colleagues.
- The year 2000 was 17 years ago and, therefore, ancient by social science research standards. In those days, the general trend faced by working professionals is the de-professionalisation of knowledge. We respect professionals less now because we can google answers prior to consulting them. I've constantly switched doctors for my diabetics treatment until I have an awesome Associate Professor who advises me knowing that I show up prepared for my appointments. ( I think he will have concerns over the Montgomery test for negligent medical advice in our next meeting, haha ! )
- Doctors and insurance agents remains the happiest professions in Singapore. Yeah, yeah, you guys know how I feel about the latter.
- Both professions are happy due to the high locus of control experienced. So if you can't switch professions, find a corporate culture which gives you the highest level of personal autonomy if you want to reduce stress. This may rule out the public sector and some uniformed services.
Ok, that's it !
We're back to regular programming next week and look out for out next talk in July.
Hi Christopher,
ReplyDeleteI think that the private sector offers much potential for one who aspires to be put in the best effort and duly rewarded for the effort. Of course, there will be instances in which the efforts are not duly recognised due to various factors such as timing, office politics etc. This is still alright as one has the options of moving to another company for better prospects.
Ben
Make sure you are not too old by then.
ReplyDeleteJob mobility drops after 40 so you really don't want to stuck in a hell-hole after that !