Some general modern slavery comparison

It is something I have never felt before in a very long time. When I woke up in the morning in the last few weeks… I actually look forward to going to work! But as soon as my assignment here is complete (yes, work here can actually finish!!), the e-mails from Malaysia began to flow in… I am brought back to reality that… work sucks.

This is probably stating the obvious but here are some of the general comparisons between here and back home…

Work here also starts at 9am. If you walk in 9.30am, you can still shout ‘good morning’ across the room and everyone shouts back to you in a happy mood.
Work starts at 9am back home. If you walk in at 9.20am, you will get ‘the stare’. If you do it frequently, you will get ‘the lecture’.

On one occasion here, one of my colleagues has to catch an early flight for her holiday and she was allowed to leave at 3pm.
On many occasions back home, one of my colleagues has to “ask for permission” to send her daughter to see the doctor at 7pm… and was denied on several occasions.
On a few occasion here, people can go on leave in the middle of a peak period. If you have to go, you have to go…
Back home, the only reason why you cannot work during peak period is when you’re dead.

Here, when I am given a week to do something, it means the work requires about 35 - 40 hours to be completed.
Back home, when I am given a week to do something, it really means… ‘a week’. Go figure.

Here, meetings are always scheduled latest 3 hours before office hour ends. There are people who will walk out of meetings as they ‘really need to leave on time’.
Back home, meetings can be scheduled as late as 1.5 hour after office hour. And you are ‘expected’ to go.

Here, having lunch with bosses is extremely enjoyable. Conversation usually comprises of 5% work, 10% holiday and 85% about English football.
Back home, you just try not to have lunch with your boss.

Here, the weekends belong to you.
Back home, the weekends belong to you only if your company give it to you… occasionally.

Here, work ends at 5pm and you are free to leave. No one will say a thing. They will even gleefully say ‘goodbye’ to you.
Back home, work ends at 5.45pm. The boss will think you are very free if you leave at 6.45pm. Do that regularly and you are deemed not committed to your work and not a team player.

Here, you can safely say ‘bye-bye’ to your boss and go home.
Back home, you can not say ‘bye-bye’ to anyone until your boss go home.

Here, the days I worked until 6.30pm, my boss here call them ‘late nights’… and we all hate it.
Back home, working till 7 – 8pm is considered normal… and we are supposed to be proud of it.

Here, the boss sometimes asked me to go home early… at about 4.45pm.
Back home, the boss also sometimes ask me to go home early… 7pm.

There are many more other differences which I will blog in details in the very near future. When I am back in Malaysia, I can only dream of such working culture. And I know a lot of Malaysians will conveniently brand those in the west as ‘lazy’. Well, is it a case of them being lazy? Or us being stupid?