Co Workster

I have a co-employee who has a sister in college. She is in-charge of her sister's assignments to get actual business letters and reports. I am, on the other hand, in charge of providing these assignments.

The last one was a business plan. I work in the government which explains that I don't have any file for that. My last resort was to look for my emails during the time I was taking my Master's. I don't remember making one because I had a groupmate who took charge of that. All he asked was for me provide for the sliding folder. 

Upon checking my emails, I was able to run through my sent items of works and assignment circa 2004-2006 (around the time I was supposedly engrossed in writing business/ human resource related compositions - pa-intellectual lang hehe). This is one of what I found. It was my contribution to my former office's newsletter. I did not have the copy of the publication but I was able to save the email when I submitted the article to the editor in chief. The title of my column was "co workster" of the friendster fame - very 2006!.

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HARD WORK + WAITING LINES = THE CHEESY-ACCOMPLISHED YOU

Heard about tale of the two mice and a cat? The two mice saw a piece of cheese. However, such was placed near the mouth of a cat, which is arguably, dead or sleeping. The first mouse thinks that it is dead. While the other one believes that the cat is actually sleeping, should he attempt to get the cheese, it will certainly be awaken.[1]

Queuing theory is the mathematical approach to the analysis of waiting lines.

Equation: W_q = L_q / λ

Where:

            W_q  - the average time customers wait in line

            L_q  - the average number of customers in the system (waiting and being served)

            λ  - customer arrival rate

Waiting lines may seem to be a very complex subject to discuss. In a simple scenario, filing for a Multi-Purpose Loan may only take 1-3 minutes to complete such transaction. A client may go to the STL-front desk and may be served for that short period of time. The problem is that, if there are 50 other clients who arrived before him. The client has to wait for early clients to finish before he may be served – that period of time is called waiting line.

In essence, not only the clients are in that line, the contractual employees themselves are in a more serious waiting line. Like the mice that are waiting for the cheese, contractual employees are likewise faced with enemies –uncertain whether they’re real, virtual, or apparent. Unconsciously, one may realize that the enemy is actually oneself.

Contractuals vs. Personal endeavors. With the delay of the promotion process, personal matters have also taken backseats. How can one raise a family with minimum wage as income? In this world and age, good parenting requires that the largest portion for responsibility is to provide. Each person aspires not only to become effective and efficient employees, but to become good parent as well.

Contractuals vs. expectancy. An employee in such situation never loses hope that promotion into permanent position might come soon. It would be resentful that such would materialize as one leaves the organization. Any opportunity outside the organization would be very hard to consider when one is conditioned with what he wants. The situation is very true especially to those who have been in the organization for more than 8 years. They’ve waited for that much, why not for another year or so?

Contractuals vs. Private employment. Be reminded that every year hundred-of-thousands graduate and would apparently belong to applicants. These multitudes of fresh people are now competitors to wherever one wishes to be hired in. With years added to one’s age, being on late-twenties/early-thirties wouldn’t be an advantage especially when one was stuck as clerk for several years.

Contractuals vs. peers. The idea of reunions or simple gathering with old friends and peers now may not ring a bell. The possibility of being asked “regular ka na?” is as certain as the peso devaluation or that another sales promotion might be launched by mobile-phone-communications company the next day

Contractuals vs. oneself. With such situation, one knows what he is into, and why he’s stuck on it. Here lies the question whether each person has a choice or not. Contractual employment binds the person to rules and policies that the contracting agency has, but it does not preclude him to take choices and consider other options. He may be bound by corporate guidelines, but he certainly is not imprisoned by this condition. What trapped him with the situation is the fear to confront these enemies – expected rewards, what’s beyond his comfort zone, and self worth?

Ask. “What would I do, if I weren’t afraid?”[2]

Where does hard work step in? There should never be a moment when an employee stops being at his best – and to be the best is not to be better than others, but to outdo the best that oneself has gone. Waiting is not just being able to bear the time that passes; it is to continuously strive to define the worth of every second that lapses.

For now, the contractual employees should wish to determine each factor and to finally solve the above equation. Then, they might find out that waiting is not the only way to an “accomplished-you”. Who knows, to reasonably move on, to look for another cheese would be a good option?

What happened with the two mice?

The first mouse grabbed the cheese thinking that the cat was dead. The cat, still, is not awake. The problem is that there was a mousetrap before the cheese.

The second mouse may not be aggressive as the first one. He was not killed by the mousetrap. However, afraid of the cat, he just waited for that cheese no matter what it takes. He eventually died too - out of hunger.

Whether the cat was asleep or dead? No one knows…

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[1] taken from Chinese film, Time and Tide. 

[2] phrase taken from Who moved my cheese?