Foreign Worker Diary: Learning 6 Working Attitude From A Singaporean Boss

At Subway Taman Daya Caltex 
Petrol Station With Mr Goh
and the rest from the Team.

 April 2016, I was hired by this company where I am currently working. My portfolio in this company includes copy writing, various media pitching, speeches, internal and external public relations, basic design, and other stuff which require the basics in the Corporate World.

I am from the Marketing Department and my job scope requires me to coordinate harmoniusly with other Departments in the Company.

Well, you may be wondering, what sort of Company I’m working with. Yes, I am working in  a Transport Company that has routes covering Singapore and Malaysia. Not only that, this company also involved in other industries like printing, tours and packages, advertising, Petrol Station, and bus chartering. Sorry folks, I cannot reveal much more about the Company because I had signed a confidentiality agreement that I will not fully divulge what the Company does including its strategies and other sensitive matters.

Anyway, why did I write this article? Well, folks, I just want to share with you something which I think is  relevant to this blog for expat experience- as a "FOREIGN WORKER".

Yes, I am a foreigner working in this Company, but I am thankful that this Company gave me the chance to showcase what I can do in this industry despite the issue on communications, culture, working attitude and mindset.

I would like to share with fellow Foreign Expats working in Malaysia and overseas the below experiences in order for us to work harmoniously with our colleagues in whichever industry we are working with. 

1. Good Working Attitude and Mindsets

I believe that with whatever industry you are working in, whether in a government or private sector, Good Working Attitude and Mindset are among the major qualities needed to have a good working relation amongst  all colleagues in the Company.

Folks, let me share with you a story to a man who always re-iterate the principles of GOOD WORKING ATTITUDE AND GOOD MINDSET.

Mr Goh as he share to all staff about 
the importance of good working 
relationship in the Company.

This story is based on my experience with him.

As a member of the Marketing Team, there was one time whereby we visited one of the public place of a Bus Terminal (He is the one in-charge). At  the site visit, I accidentally saw something wrong to one of the advertisements posted at the location. I am still new in the Company. So what I did was upon going back to the office, I send an email to him and cc'ed other Departments for a request to amend the said error. My objective for sharing this was to ensure that the request will be fully documented as I shared the image.  Right there and then, he called to my attention. He asked me why did I do that. Of course he was disappointed. He responded the matter in such a way that I can understand the mistake I’ve done. He talked to me and advised things that are relevant to my career progression in wherever industry I am working at “ So..y(my name), you are still young, and there are a lot of things that you should learn and take into consideration when having this kind of situation. I’m not saying that what you did was wrong but you should have ask the person in charge first for the sake of “COLLEAGUE”   in the Company”. We should be “SOLVING THE PROBLEM TOGETHER”.

Right there and then, I took that as a lesson. I shared this story to my family and friends and to tell you folks, they were surprised by my story. I told them that he is a Singaporean with this kind of good mindset and attitude.  And they told me “He is a good boss if that is how he perceived things for his lower subordinates". "You will surely learn a lot from him”- those were the feedback I got from majority of my friends and relatives. 

This experience made me closer to him as my editor, my mentor, and adviser and also whom I considered as “My Grandfather in the Company” (not only me but also with the rest of our "lunch buddies") .  My colleagues don’t understand why I always go to his room. This is because with his experience of more than 40 years in different big Companies in Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian Countries, I know that he has a lot of inputs which he can share with me that would be relevant to my career and personal life. 

2. Be Consistent With Your Good Attitude

Folks, he is a good man with a good heart. Imagine, despite being the GM in the Company, whenever there is a new staff joining in our team, his email name “ljGoh” always appears at my screen saying” welcome to the Company…. “ he always make sure that he welcome them irrespective of nationality, race, and their background.

He is consistent and to tell you honestly, in my 17 months of working in the Company, I may be wrong but I'd already read almost 83 welcome email notes from him to welcome our new colleagues (staff and interns). And I am one of them who received the welcome email notes. Imagine a GM stepping down from his post and initiating a big smile with a word of “hi, good morning, good afternoon” that make you feel that someone from your top level cares for you.

3. Be Reasonable At All Times

Sharing to Media about the Company 
CORE VALUES. 

Being the Company writer for the staff news , I always ask around what are the good news that I can share with all staff.  Sometimes our colleagues say something negative about him (shouting over the phone or even during their internal meeting). 

Some colleagues may think that he is shouting without nothing but actually his staff (themselves) said” it’s not that he wanted to shout” it is because he was forced to as some of his subordinates made empty promises to him. And folks, I cannot just simply write things just because I heard one side of the story. I have to be reasonable at all times.

Folks, he is a GM and it is his responsibility to ensure that his Department and all those Companies that are under his care is up to what the expectations from the Top Level Management. (I believe that if you are in his position, you will also be the same). 

To tell you folks, he is a type of a person that when you say that you will do it, then he is expecting something out from that word.  He respect your words. 

Some of my colleagues may have overhead that he is raising his voice but I think he has the right to do it as his subordinates do not follow their commitment as well as their promises to him. How would you feel if somebody promised you something but actually when you follow up on that promise, your staff says "not yet done".  Of course you will get mad. 

But for him, just a simple and sincere explanation can make him understand the situation because he always share the word "we should be reasonable at all times". 

4. Good Heart With A Clear Conscience

Folks, he may scold his staff in their internal meeting or in the phone, but actually he is a man with a big heart.

Birthday Treat at Setia Tropika. 

One time, one of his maintenance staff was involved in an accident at our Company Depot. The damage was quite bad. I overheard that the cost was about RM 1500, but upon knowing this incident, he immediately called the attention of his staff and let him explain and understand without shouting or screwing up the person. He let the guy explain and you know what happened? He offered to pay half of the damages from the accidents from his own pocket.  My goodness that is already almost 60 percent of my expenditure for my family in a month.  

I personally asked him about this stories I heard from my colleague and folks you couldn’t believe of what he had answered to me: “So..y (my name), in life it is not all about the money, for once we have to think also about the welfare of the person”, he has a family to support and I am doing this for him to understand that I still care for him despite all those troubles that he was involved with in my Department”.

Those words made me realize that the person I am talking with is a man with a good heart and clear conscience.

5. Be Kind To Others

If he has a good heart to his people, folks, let me tell another story. I heard from one of his Senior Executive staff that his personal car was involved in a car accident at a Petrol Station. A man with an old car suddenly just opened his car door which was too late for him to step on his car break.  As a result, the car door of that fellow was totally damaged.

He went out to see the situation. According to him, the first thing that he noticed was a mid-30’s woman which he assumes as the wife and two children inside the car. With that scenario, he didn’t think about his car anymore.

He stepped down from his car and ask the driver (the husband) and talked to them. By right he is actually the victim of that incident but folks, you couldn’t believe what he had just done. He assessed the car and it seemed that the family could not afford to fix their car door. Hence, he offered to fix the car door. He phone called his mechanic and accompanied them to the workshop to let the car be fixed. He also offered to bring the wife and her two children to go to the clinic. In the end, he gave extra money to the wife to take taxi for her to bring the two children to a clinic for their check-up.

He is a good citizen with a good and clear conscience. All this stories I’ve heard were good reflection how truly a good man he is.

6. Learn From People Around You

Folks, I am so happy that I am working with a good person who is down to earth and someone who is always at my side to support me, advised me what to do especially when I ask some advises weather my plan is doable and realistic. 

He called me to my extension. So..y (my name), come to my office. Then when going in to his office, he always say, “Good Morning or good afternoon.. Come sit…” Those were the lines that I already memorized since I am used to it in entering into his office to seek for advice.

Bak Kut Teh with Mr Goh. 
He is very nice. 

I considered him as my Grandfather in the Company as well as one of the closest friend whom I can always trust at all times. He knows how to uplift me when I am down. He always advise me about having good values, good mindset in all my undertakings.

In his 40 over years of experience in different Companies here and abroad, he never compare them. Instead,  he shared with us (our lunch buddies)  the good values that he had learnt from his supervisors, bosses and other colleagues. He always say that we (the young generation) must be receptive to learn good things from other people around us. 

He may not be directly my boss, but despite all this things, he treated me as his student and as a friend.

Folks, to end this article, I hope that these 6 good qualities would be good enough for us to make things easier specially that we are working in a very competitive world. Those principles were elaborated based on the information and experience I had with him. I believe that this will surely teach everyone how to be cooperative while working in a foreign land like me. As a Singaporean, he is also working in a foreign Country (Malaysia). 

I'm not saying that he is a hero but I believe that it is my utmost responsibility to share with you folks those lessons I've learnt from him. As I end this article, let me say, thank you Mr Goh Lak Jin. You are an angel to me sent by God to teach and guide me the right way.