We should avoid unnecessary socialising while on the job and definitely not get into office politics.
UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI: We all want to excel and to do so we compete with one another. As long as the competition is healthy it is good to have it, otherwise it can be self-destructive as greed is never good.
We need to make long-term efforts in order to achieve our goals. All this needs hard work and persistence. With us, it is even harder because we need not only have to meet some extra challenges in our careers but also have to spare time to fulfil responsibilities at home and to nurture more demanding relations in the capacity of daughter, sister or wife. In the beginning we all face difficulties but with the passage of time we learn to make the best of our potential.
Being the suppressive element of society as the women are in most of the developing countries, many of us are either prone to overreact or be unresponsive. We are by nature very delicate and hence our health is more adversely affected by stress mediated hormonal disturbances. This is not gender bias on my part but a scientifically established reality and a globally accepted fact. The problem usually arises when we work with our male colleagues in poorly structured organisations where we all are supposed to interact with one another professionally as individuals and to make joint efforts. This is very different from what we are used to at home and same is the case for our male colleagues.
Studying or working experience at world class academic or professional institutions of high repute can help us acquire professional norms. Due to the scarcity of opportunities especially in developing countries, most of us do not have sufficient exposure to deal with professional pressures. The first thing is to recognise our potential and be aware of our weaknesses.
It is a good idea to be dynamic and spare some time to pursuing other activities such as writing, painting, gardening or even social media. The last one in particular can help us to interact with like-minded people.
The first thing that we are supposed to acquire after joining an organisation is to acquire information about its rules and regulations, and our duties and rights as employees. We should also be aware of the procedure used to make appeals or complaints regarding our workplace and so on. We should avoid unnecessary socialising while on the job and definitely not get into office politics.
Faiza Abdur Rab
Department of Food Science and Technology
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2014.
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