Singapore’s corporate world is a hybrid of Eastern and Western philosophies. Like most international companies, expect it to be based on a Western rat race which is self-centric and aggressive. However, it’s balanced out by Eastern sensibilities and values such as conformity and patience.
Barely surviving in a cutthroat environment is one thing as you can just live day to day passively and do what is expected of you. However, breaking through this stiff corporate environment requires a profoundly different mindset. Here are some tips on how to make a mark in Singapore’s highly-globalized and competitive corporate world.
Learn Everything You Can[/b]
Learn from your boss, your teammates, your colleagues, and even from your own mistakes. It has been said that mistakes are the greatest teachers. Don’t act like you’re the big hotshot in the office and think you can’t make mistakes and the company can’t run without your presence. Unless you have at least a managerial title before your name, you’re just a small cog in the corporate machine and the company can easily replace you with another.
Make Friends With Everyone[/b]
Befriend your bosses, colleagues, and even coworkers from other departments. It wouldn’t hurt hanging out with them during lunch or breaks. If they invite you for Friday’s after work barhopping, graciously accept and join in on the fun! Don’t be that antisocial creep who lives just to work, shielding himself from the outside world. This guy often becomes the butt of your coworkers’ jokes.
Go For the Gold[/b]
Like I said before, don’t just barely survive, you must thrive! Don’t settle for the annual corporate gift as consolation, go for the big bonus! If you have quotas to maintain, exceed them every chance you get. If you’re faced with loads of work, do everything superbly and make sure you finish them on time. Or if you find yourself with more time to kill, ask your supervisor for some supplementary work. Show your superiors that you’re ready for the next step. However, if you’re continually given extra work unrelated to your duties, you must immediately demand for a promotion or a higher pay since you won’t allow yourself to become the office pushover.
Work Smart Not Hard[/b]
There is a major difference between the two. Working hard means pushing yourself to the limit in order to finish your workload, often taking overtime hours to finish more work. On the other hand, working smart means finishing your work on time and perfecting the work-life balance. Working hard has been a staple virtue of workforces past but in today’s business culture, it might mean you’re inefficient or too eager. It gives off the wrong vibe that you’re more machine than man and might breakdown and burnout any given moment. In order to work smart, minimize your chitchat and gossiping, focus on your work and not on your social media accounts. There’s a time for everything, so maximize your time in the office so you can get to home on time and enjoy life.