The Work-Life Advocate
I just had to blog this, because it seems so cute.
Work-life balance seems to be the hot topic these days. Renny and I attended the Work-Life Conference recently, and then on the 24th of July, CNA penned this little article. An excerpt:
SINGAPORE: Civil servants can look forward to a better work-life balance. An advocate and ambassador will be appointed in every public sector agency to help find the middle ground between the two worlds…
Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister and Minister In Charge of Civil Service, said: "The Work-life Advocate will by its very name be a champion for work-life and pro-family measures.
"He will take steps to ensure that work-life policies are in place, and more importantly that these policies work for the employees as well as the organisation.
"To signal the government’s commitment, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry will be the Work-Life Advocate."
While I want to rejoice and shout hurrah at this, a good, large pinch of salt screws my lips together and I make a bit of a grimace. Personal and secondary experience suggests caution. While exact details and past examples do not jump readily to mind (possibly because I’ve got a memory like Swiss cheese), the few friends I have asked share the same opinion. An ex-teacher, who declines to be named, informs me that in her school, there used to be this person appointed to look after teachers’ welfare. The person poked around too much, and did not contribute to anything remotely constructive. Another informant comments that the deputies who have now been made work-life advocates will "sure dulan", which in English really means that they will be extremely annoyed.
There is one fundamental issue here and it isn’t whether or not these advocates will be effective. Rather, it is the pervasive cynicism that is worth taking a gander at. The CSR Student Movement had a booth during the NUS Matriculation Fair held this week, and I spoke to a number of freshmen who questioned whether or not something like CSR would work. There were doubts and there was skepticism and beneath it all was a feeling that idealism could not work. Sometimes, it was worse. Some apparently think it is something to avoid. I start with the word "corporate" and they gasp, I say "social" and their eyes widen, and by the time I reach "responsibility", they’ve actually shoved my flyer back into my hands and run away. Literally, run away. They’re always female, interestingly. I don’t quite know why they feared CSR so much, but I conjecture that they feel about it the same way society used to feel about those hippie treehuggers and their crazy ideas. Now society knows better, what with the media propagating climate change and the hip and cool nature of environmentalism.
Anyway, this cynicism is an obstacle to not just our cause but to every other one too. It prevents people from trying to change things because they believe it is pointless to do so. And because they do not want to help out, worthy causes remain tiny. So, hopefully, the work-life advocate effectively (genuinely effectively, and not superficially, or what locals call "wayang") advocates work-life balance and achieves measurable changes for the better. It would give many people hope and then they would perhaps become more active in making the world a kinder place to live in.
That said, I think the work-life advocate is a wonderful idea and will at least give voice to people who believe that work supports life and not the other way around. Small achievement, but one nonetheless. Hurrah!
