From a Temp Staff's Point of View (2/3)

The second thing that made me feel sad (partly lonely too) was that Carol, a temp staff who joined my department recently, has decided to resign abruptly due to the politics that are going on in my company, as well as the mundane tasks that she has been assigned, of which she finds it meaningless, boring & a waste of her talent.

Well, I kind of agree, in a way, coz the temp staff that are hired for my department, always end up doing all sorts of work that the executives do not want or like to do... for example, cold calling to 200 companies, etc. Of coz, full-time project executives ought to focus their time on more higher level work, but how can we blame our temp staff who get bored, when we are giving them such mundane tasks to do? Even though a temp staff, I am sure some would like to be able to learn something from their short work experience here, apart from earning their hourly-rated salary. Nowadays, youngsters are different... they need to find their self-worth & interest in what they do... not just do things blindly... or feel treated like some cheap labour.

I worked 7 months as a temp staff in a Telco company during my early after-graduation days & I must say that I am very grateful for a very, very understanding direct supervisor & several opportunities for job rotation to learn different things... not just sit at the desk the whole day, doing photocopying, filing, calling, etc. In fact, even as a temp staff, I have to say that I was granted the opportunity for a subsequent perm job in the same company becoz of what I had learnt during my work experience as a temp staff... plus a recommendation by my supervisor.

So you see... temp staff are humans too... & they strive to find self-worth, value & meaning in what they are doing. Like everyone else, they also don't wish to wake up every morning, feeling all grudging about why they are dragging themselves to a workplace where they earn peanuts, yet do boring tasks like shredding paper, faxing, photocopying, etc. I am sure that there can be more than that, isn't it? Temp staff would want to feel appreciated as one of us too! Not let them eat lunch by themselves everyday, for as long as they are working in the company!

In the case of Carol, she has been praying & fasting... asking God to provide her with a better job that she can puts her talents & skills into doing. And God provided for her a permanent job that pays much better, familiar work environment & colleagues, as well as being able to work in an area which complements what she is currently serving in! It was like a Godsend! I was so happy for her! And this naughty girl pretended to be upset & 'lied' to me that her 2nd interview didn't go well... when actually she got the job! Hahahaha... Thank God! *Phew!*

I mean, how many people actually get a chance to do what they enjoy &/or find meaning in doing? I wish for that too! Especially during this little 'crisis' that I am going through... all the more I find myself able to emphatise with her. And I encouraged her to pursue her interests coz that is what would make her happy & find purpose in going to work.

All these was shared between Carol & I, as friends... not colleagues... coz she doesn't report to me, but my other colleague. Thus, I have to emphasize again... we confided with each other as friends... not colleagues... there is a difference! Why do I say that? Well, refer to my 3rd & final 3-part series of this sharing in my Blog...