How To Succeed as a Dual-Career Couple in Singapore

It comes as no surprise that the relationship between life partners has an enormous impact on their professional lives. Sharing a life with someone entails that you are each other’s support system. Moreover, you must take your partner’s ambitions, needs, and wants to account when making decisions.

Career decisions affect how you manage your household. In Singapore, dual-career couples are becoming more of a norm. The Department of Statistics released a population census last 2021, which highlighted the current labor trends in Singapore.

The last decade has seen an increase in the proportion of resident married-couple households with working wives and an increase in households with spouses who hold equal qualifications. The proportion of resident married-couple households with spouses holding equal qualifications elevated from 44.3% to 46.6%.

Let us put our focus on dual-career couples. Dual-career couples were the largest group among married couples, increasing from 47.1% in 2010 to 52.5% in 2020. This significant increase was observed across all age groups. It is understood that resident married-couple households with both the husband and wife employed earned more. In fact, they earned a median monthly combined income of $11,101 in 2020. This is higher than the median monthly income of households with only the husbands were employed ($5,070) and those with only the wives were employed ($3,213).

As more households adopt the lifestyle of a dual-career couple, here are some helpful tips that can guide you through the journey.

#1: COMMUNICATE EFFICIENTLY

One of the main ingredients of a successful partnership is communication. Communication may take different forms for every couple, but it ought to be personal and practical. For day-to-day activities, you need to talk about the actions that will make your household run smoothly. Who will take charge of the household chores? Who will pick up the kids from school? Discuss feelings, ambitions, and challenges in a respectful and intimate manner. This will allow you to know what is going well and what is not.

#2: LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE

When you make decisions, it is important to look at the bigger picture. For instance, a mother decided to quit her job to take care of her kids due to the excessive costs of childcare. However, this decision can decrease the net earnings of the household and affect their overall financial status. On the other hand, taking a short-term financial hit to pay for childcare may increase the earning power potential of the couple in the long run. Think about your current situation and examine the best options for your future.

#3: CONSIDER ALL THE PARTS

A partnership incorporates two people’s needs and concerns on the table. Moreover, you must include the needs of your family as a unit. Listen carefully to your partner and reach a shared understanding of each other’s goals. Doing this will help you strike a balance in your life as a spouse, a parent, and an employee/employer.

#4: SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

Let us face it! Communication does not come naturally to every couple, and that is okay. It is essential to acknowledge this and find other ways to communicate formally. For starters, a counselor can help you work as a couple to ensure that you are being equally heard and that you are developing your goals with consideration for one another.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

If your issue is finding time to communicate, you may ask a trusted family member to help lessen your workload at home. Seek part-time help while still meeting the needs of your household and your children. Seeking help can give you the physical and mental space to re-connect to your partner.

Sources: 1 & 2

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How to Nail Your Exit Interview

Exit interviews are conducted by the employer or the HR personnel to learn more about the position and the reasons for turnover. The organization wants to know why you are leaving. Moreover, they want to take it as an opportunity to think critically about your experience. Use this to provide feedback and suggestions.

What did you learn from your position? How might the organization improve? Here are some things to keep in mind.

#1: PREPARE YOURSELF

Jobs play a huge role in our lives. Leaving a job can stir a pot of strong emotions. So, it is best to prepare. Treat the exit interview like any other interview by practicing your answers. Anticipate the questions and research the possible answers.

#2: FIND THE POSITIVE

Regardless of your experience, you need to find something good about it. Perhaps, you learned a new skill from your boss or had incredible workmates. This is the time to be specific about the people who helped you along the way.

#3: REVIEW COMMON QUESTIONS

Be honest and calculated when it comes to answering the exit interview questions. Consider the following sample answers.

a. Why are you leaving?

“I really enjoyed working here and learned a lot over the course of my employment. However, I found a job with more opportunities for growth. It is time for me to go in a different direction.”

b. How do you feel about the management?

“Overall, I am grateful and satisfied with how the management guided me with the position. However, there is always room for improvement. Management sometimes overlooked the ways they could utilize my role and I felt stagnant. You can empower the employees more by encouraging innovative ideas and providing new tasks that will ignite their creativity.”

c. Did you receive proper and adequate training?

“The best thing you can do for the new hires is to make sure that they understand their roles and supply them with tools to perform their job well. You can also incorporate the discussion of career enrichment in the onboarding process.

Personally, I did not always feel that the resources were enough for me to do the job well. I think new hires can benefit from more frequent training. To fully prepare new employees to meet the company’s expectations, management might consider additional training for them. Current employees may also get refresher courses to maximize their abilities.”

d. Would you recommend the company to others?

If your answer is yes, please explained why you want to genuinely endorse them to your friends and family members. If your answer is no, you can consider the sample answer below.

“If someone asked me if they should apply here, I would ask them to elaborate their background and preferred work environments. This organization may not be suitable for everyone, but it could really work well for certain people.”

Image Credits: pixabay.com

On an employee’s last day, the organization wants to gain context around why an employee is leaving.

End the exit interview conversation by wishing everyone well and by opening doors for (potential) return.

Sources: 1 & 2

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6 Tips to Cultivate Teamwork at Work

Why is teamwork vital in the workplace? Well, teamwork can lead to multiple benefits including greater efficiency, workforce productivity, increased innovation, higher employee morale, and improved retention.

Given that some or most of the staff are working remotely, fostering teamwork in the workplace is not easy. This article offers suggestions for cultivating teamwork both in virtual and physical settings.

#1: SET CLEAR GOALS

Describe what each employee is supposed to accomplish and not how they should accomplish it. Explain the expectations in terms of the outcomes and elaborate the team’s goals. How each employee meets these expectations will vary. You need to trust them.

#2: ENCOURAGE GIVING SUPPORT

Cultivating an environment were asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Getting the work done requires time and focus. When you need inspiration or support, ask for it. People who are experts on the field can teach you new ways to solve the issue at hand.

#3: DIVIDE THE LOAD

Teamwork does not mean everyone does one task together. It requires breaking each component into parts. Then, the team sorts out who will do each part according to availability and expertise. A credible project manager will help with the organization of these parts.

#4: CREATE A REVIEW PROCESS

Review meetings enable the team to be on the same page. It gives each team member the chance to politely critique the team’s work. Encourage the employees to question the project from different angles. Often, you will catch things that would otherwise get missed.

#5: CELEBRATE WINS TOGETHER

Appreciate the challenging work of each team member. Take time to extend your gratitude for the specific contributions to the team. Celebrate your wins together as you achieve a milestone towards your goal.

#6: HIGHLIGHT THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION

Teamwork does not only benefit the organization, but it can also boost camaraderie and increase job satisfaction. Working in teams provides employees more opportunities to unleash their creative ideas. Having a sense of belonging sure helps in reducing stress too. The dynamics and strength of your team directly affect business outcomes.

Sources: 1 & 2

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7 Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health at Work

The pandemic and its aftereffects have taken a toll on people’s mental health. Singaporeans from all walks of life have experienced stress throughout the pandemic – from frontline workers to family members who were separated from each other. Those who were infected by virus or those who grieved the loss of their loved one face difficulties in their physical and mental health.

The workplace has restructured. Whichever industry you work for, you have the power to look after your mental health and overall well-being. Start with these tips.

#1: TALK TO SOMEONE YOU TRUST

Whether you find comfort in sharing your situation to a co-worker, a friend, or a family member, talking to someone you trust can help. You may feel better if you are able to openly talk about what you are going through at work. Someone who cares about you can provide you with a fresh perspective or help you arrive at a solution. If you feel more comfortable in meeting your confidant in person, please follow the safety precautions. Nonetheless, you can always stay connected with your trusted confidant through video calls or messaging apps.

#2: MONITOR YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH

Focus and concentration at work can be achieved when you take care of your physical health. Moreover, eating a healthy diet and strengthening your physical health can improve your mental well-being. Experts suggest exercising at least 30 minutes daily. Try dancing, running, cycling, practicing yoga, skating, and so on.

Looking for affordable dumbbells? Search no further than Decathlon Singapore. They store dumbbells for as low as S$8/pair.

#3: MOVE AWAY FROM HARMFUL SUBSTANCES

If you are overwhelmed with the stack of deadlines and the long demands of irate clients, you may opt for taking substances such as alcohol or nicotine. For a short while, these substances may help you feel better. However, depending on these substances to cope with stress can harm you eventually. These substances can put you or those around you at risk of diseases or injuries.

#4: TAKE 2 MINUTES TO FOCUS ON THE PRESENT

Stop a whirlwind of thoughts by reconnecting yourself to the present moment. Follow along the video below and take slow (relaxing) deep breaths. Give yourself these two minutes of peace as you put your feet on the ground and sit comfortably in your chair. May this video help you to tackle the day ahead!

#5: LEARN TO SAY NO

Take care of yourself! It is important to know how much work you can take on so that you do not exhaust yourself. Of course, it is natural to have the desire to impress your boss or co-workers by performing well. Sometimes, you can only be at your best when you do not divide your attention to many tasks.

Only you will know when “possible” turns into “impossible”. A key skill you need to learn in the workplace is learning to say “no”.

#6: CREATE HEALTHY BOUNDARIES

I must admit! It is hard to ignore the popping work notifications. With the advancement of technology, we became reachable 24/7. To protect yourself from exhaustion, you can set boundaries early on. Leave your work on time and maximize your tasks in the workplace. Try to resist checking or responding to work emails and messages after your work hours or before going to sleep.

#7: ASK FOR HELP

For many people, work can have a positive impact on our health and overall well-being. Businesses simply operate better when the employees are physically and mentally healthy. So, it is worth asking your manager how he or she can help you perform well in the team. See if you can work together to adjust your working conditions to make sure everyone feels comfortable at work.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

 

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A Touching Farewell for iPod

Highlights

  • Apple is discontinuing the production of the iPod touch.
  • Apple first kicked off the portable music device in 2001.
  • The iPod touch will be available while supplies last.

The iPod’s introduction last 2001 took the market by storm. Since then, iPod has undergone several versions such as featuring a scroll wheel, increasing its capacity to 1,000 songs, and a 10-hour battery life. The version that has been selling until now is the iPod Touch, which was launched in 2007. 2007 is a special year for Apple as it was the same year iPhone was launched.

By 2011, Apple held a 70% global market share in MP3 players. About 400 million iPods have been sold to date. The power of music players was eclipsed by smartphones such as the rise of the iPhone.

Apple has announced that it is discontinuing the iPod, 21 years after the device became the face of portable music and kickstarted its company’s evolution. The announcement ends an era of digital music, which previously boasted up to “1,000 CD-quality songs into an ultra-portable, 6.5-ounce design that fits in your pocket.”

The iPod Touch is the only version still being sold and will be available until supplies last. Apple stopped selling the Nano and Shuffle in 2017. Experts predicted that the Touch would follow soon because of the prevalence of iPhones and other smartphones.

Interestingly, the later versions of iPod Touch resembled smartphones by including features such as taking photos, sending emails, and making video calls.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice-president of worldwide marketing said in a statement that the “spirit of iPod lives on”.

He added:

“Music has always been part of our core at Apple and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impact more than just the music industry – it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to and shared.”

Sources: 1 & 2

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