Sunday, May 3, 2009

Where thou art “Job Security”?

While most companies are bracing for the worst case of economy brewing, the Gen-Y graduate employees are still busy shifting jobs and as a result getting a sizeable pay rise. Gen-Y of Chinese origin tends to achieve better in this respect compared to their other counterparts. Why is that so?

I guessed this is really about this Chinese Gen-Y’s fast-track and highly self confidence outlook that push them into an adventurous mode. They have no qualm about taking on a greener pasture even if this means moving to a totally green-field; something totally new to them. They just wanted to challenge themselves and push their boundary while they are still at it, ie. this young era of their life. Job security is not important….is also not part of their vocabulary either.

Over the last three years, I have trained or rather coached at least 3 graduates to undertake some work aspects that are near entirely new to the company. We have to learn and review issues arising, as well as innovate from scratch to work out something viable that can be good building blocks to what I wanted to achieve in the shorter term future. Whilst doing this, I tried my very best to inculcate in them to need to have a steeper and constructive learning curves, I simply do not want them to be mere task handlers as there are already aplenty in the company……and also work out the best possible career path as well as salary that is competitive to the market.

Alas, the willingness of the market to pay cannot be under-estimated….especially coming from the non-insurance industry….. Another important comment they made was, “Look! The existing staffs that gave their major part of their lives are still normal executives, and they are already near retirement…..yet not achieving anything substantial” It is a reality that increment (year-in-year-out) to existing staff are usually nominal if there is no promotion, and this is not unusual for other industry as well. Frankly speaking, although the insurance industry may not be paying the workforce extremely well but it is still better than most and it is also an enviable industry during this trying economic times being more resilient to any downturn. We can’t be rich but able to live our daily lives contented and possibly save a couple of ringgit off-and-on….

To the Gen-Y, this is not going to be music to their ears…. What? You mean we have to save a couple of hundred ringgit or so on, and hope to have a secure job with a big company….and further hoping to retire with the EPF….that is may be the “Baby-boomers” sort of thinking….not ours!

So, in the next era of urban Gen-Y making a splash into the job market, there is no such thing as job security….the word security is nothing more than their confidence and capability to push their boundary……

(Gen-Yers are people born between 1985 and 2004)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes totally agreed. No point working hard but not enough pay, then cannot survive. You know, we need money to learn english so that bosses don't scold and ridicule us for poor english!