HAPPY BOSS DAY
Who is your boss? Are you afraid of
him or her or cherish working in the organisation? Do you feel fascinated by
the powers that your boss has over you and the people in the organisation? Is
your boss a happy person or one who shows seriousness in everything? Is your
boss someone attached abroad at the HQ and he sometimes pay a visit to
Singapore and you know very little about him?
I have heard many people being not aware of Boss
Day. International Boss Day falls on 16 OCT every year. However, in Singapore,
Boss Day falls on 1 NOV every year. When I was working in Raffles Place, I use
to see a person selling many fresh rose stalks nicely wrapped on Valentine Day
and also on Boss Day. One of my colleagues bought a rose stalk to give to his
boss but then when he came to office, he was unable to give the wonderful gift
to his boss.
It was fear that prevented him to see the boss. He kept the rose
with him and then when he left office, he sadly carried the rose stalk home. At
home, the wife was pleased with him but he was quiet as a mouse. There was no
enthusiasm in his spirit.
If your boss is a brilliant gem for the
organisation, then you are lucky and well-blessed. I have seen some bosses come
up the difficult way i.e. study part time while working and then climbing the
corporate ladder and finally reaching to the top. It is something like a rare
pearl which was nurtured and developed through good habits and
industriousness. A boss is the epitome of career success.
One day I saw that a colleague’s hand phone rang at
the wrong time: the boss was in the room and thus my colleague whispered to the
hand phone that he is busy at the meeting and would call later. At least it is
a wise decision, instead of making the boss wait. Please don’t distract your
boss when he or she is busy because it could be something very important and
your disturbing could affect the organisation.
Counter staff especially in many organisations are
afraid to meet with customers complain. They
feel afraid that they wish to
avoid telling their name. If they are wearing a
name tag, they wear it in such way that customers could not see properly. A
complain from a customer could mean an example of poor service, defective
product sold or even cases of misunderstanding.
Some people feel that it is
unfair remark to say that ‘a customer is a
king’. To enhance corporate image, some organisation hire PRO
meaning Public Relations Officer. Then the counter has a name board on the
table. It is easier for customers to know who is serving them and it is also
easier for feedback or even a letter of appreciation to be directed because the
customer knows who is serving. There is nothing to fear from customers if you
serve well.
Many
organisations provide exit interviews and this is an opportunity to tell the
boss what you do not wish to tell while being employed within the firm. However,
it is a bad thing to burn the bridge as it means you cannot come back, be
affected in future employment because new employer do contact the old boss and
most important of all you lose your face if you meet the ex-boss again in the
future. Therefore give feedback that would prove useful for the organisation
and not something detrimental to your own future.
As I meet
some of my ex-bosses, I feel happy that they can still recognise me after many
years. There are no more the inhibitions to talk freely because you realise that
your bosses are humans too, not the mental image of a fierce tiger you could
have been carrying with you all these years. My ex-bosses like to know how I am
coping up with life, how are my family members, how is the current job and so
on.
Conversation flows smoothly and so do joke and laughter punctuate in
occasionally. As I talk with my former bosses, I begin to recall the phase of
life I was in and the special moments in the past. The days that are long gone
will not come back again and I can’t reverse the time back so that these
special humans could be my boss again.
As I think
about it, I feel quite sad the years have passed by so quickly. Many of us
could be moving towards retirement and this represents a significant life
change again. Some of you could become self boss one day; as you do your own
business, you then realise the importance of leadership, decision-making and
cost consciousness which your bosses use to practise.
Today I convey my best wishes and hope that all the
bosses including my ex-bosses and current one is well-blessed in their life.
A WARM & HAPPY BOSS DAY
Om Nath Panday
1 NOV 2008