Singapore Snippets

Visitors to Singapore normally exclaim about the greenary in Singapore. And this is one example why Singapore remains green.



Look at the fencing around the trees to protect them when there's construction work going around it.

A birthday card

We normally send hand made cards to the cousins and grandparents. The little girl's favourite cousin's birthday was coming closer and we hadn't done any cards. I was blog hopping and came across this wonderful collection of hand made cards by TPL's mother. As we are not as artistic as her mother, we took an easy idea from there and prepared this.



This was done entirely by the little girl last September (when she was five and a half) with almost no help from me.

Work Life Balance

I work in a company that gives a lot of importance to work life balance. This is one of the main reasons I have stayed with this job in spite of a number of odds. I got 6 months maternity leave for each of my kids when the norm was 3 months. Family emergencies are given the first priority. The bosses somehow try to adjust during those times.

There are 3 incidents that stood out. All these three were within our team globally.

This guy is a global head and he went through a nasty divorce. He was left with his little daughter. He was alone in a foreign country with no help. The company gave him the most flexible arrangement where by he could go to a nearby office and work from there on the days he was not working from home. The office nearby didn't have anything to do with our line of job, but they made the arrangements for him. This way he could take care of his daughter as well as do his work without a problem.

The next guy had quite a few problems with his extended family. He had felt he couldn't do justice to his work as he had to take a lot of leave to sort his family issues. He gave his resignation papers. He was the sole bread winner for the family. The bosses had a discussion with him and it was decided that he would come to office on alternate days and thus have time to sort his personal issues as well as have a job. He stepped down from his regional lead post. Within a year was able to sort his personal issues and come back to office on a full time basis.

The third guy has a kid with special needs. His working hours are so arranged that he is always able to take his kid to the special classes and doctor visits.

All the three incidents above have made sure the talented guys stay within the company. This has also made us all aware that whatever happens, if you give the best to the job, the company would be behind you in your crises.

Happy Labour Day to all of you!!