Is it pure propaganda, or are Sinagporeans truly happy with their jobs? This is a front-page story from today’s Straits Times:
S’pore: nation of happy workers?
You may hear it in the office, on the train or bus, among friends at lunch – an apparently never-ending gripe about work.
But surprise, surprise, 59 per cent of Singapore workers say they love their jobs and 25 per cent of them want to stay in them for 15 years or more.
This despite a year of merciless lay-offs and painful wage cuts.
Anyone living here who possesses minimal grey matter knows that Singapore’s workers are feeling a lot of emotions at the moment, but joy and satisfaction are not at the top of the list. Angst seems to be the prevalent feeling as workers wonder when the next retrenchments will come, and whether their benefits will be further reduced.
This type of article, with its puffy, cheerful wording (“Surprise, surprise!”) is the norm over here when it comes to all things dealing with the Singapore economy. It epitomizes why nearly all the locals I know tell me they automatically presume all such stories are false and meaningless. I’d throw in another adjective: embarrassing.
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By boy
interesting. i read in Bali in the Jakarta Post that some huge company would relocate to India this year. can’t remember the name of hte company,though. sorry.
January 25, 2004 @ 2:44 pm | Comment
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By Asian Labour News
Singapore: A nation of happy workers?
Thanks to Richard at Peking Duck for blogging on this story. It seems the people who conducted the survey didn’t ask his view on workplace happiness, or indeed anyone he knows. This is how the Peking Duck interprets the situation:…
January 26, 2004 @ 1:04 pm | Comment
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By Asian Labour News
Singapore: A nation of happy workers?
Thanks to Richard at Peking Duck for blogging on this story. It seems the people who conducted the survey didn’t ask his view on workplace happiness, or indeed anyone he knows. This is how the Peking Duck interprets the situation:…
January 26, 2004 @ 1:05 pm | Comment