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A Briton has just won the best job in the world!

He will be paid a cool $100,000 a year to just bum on the white sands of a tropical island in Queensland, Australia from a three-bedroom beach home, feed fish, clean the pool and updated weekly blogs. His remuneration package will include free return airfares, transportation on the island, computers and cameras and travel to other islands!

Don’t we all wish for a job like that?! One that is a perpetual holiday instead of being shackled to our workdesks!

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Unemployment and job retrenchment is a real threat in today’s global recession. No one is spared from it, not even doctors.

“Many doctors, irrespective of whether they are in the government or private sector, are very keen to earn extra income these days.” (source)

It is important to hang on to your jobs but if the inevitable announcement comes, what can you do? Here are some tips to help you cope should you be retrenched or given a severance package by your company.

Talk To Your Family

Don’t hide it from your loved ones. Don’t cut them out. If you do, they will be equally powerless to help or support you. Although they may not be able to help financially, their solid support is equally important for your emotional strength which you will need to see you through this period.

Assess Your Financial Situation

Sit with your partner to discuss your existing financial situation. Discuss how best you can utilise your savings and investments to avoid defaulting on your mortgage. Plan how long your funds might be able to last you and where you have to start cutting back on. If your partner is working with a steady income, openly discuss how you can maximise that monthly stream of income to help tide this period over.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Don’t let your ego cloud you from asking for help, if you need it. Ask. You may find your friends and family are ever ready to help and support you. Just sharing your frustrations and fear with someone would be better than bottling it up inside.

Be Prepared To Do Anything

If you have been retrenched, you can’t afford to be picky about future opportunities. Take advantage of whatever job options you have, even if it pays a lot less than your previous job. Every new job will give you added confidence and increased self-esteem to rebuild your career again.

Think Positive

This may not be easy when your whole world seems dark without any hope. However, only you can motivate yourself best so search for your inner strength and start each day with a positive thought. Read positive and motivational books to fill yourself with positive feelings and thoughts. It will do wonders for your self-confidence.

Upgrade Your Skills

Part of the Malaysia RM60 billion Stimulus Package included the establishment and upgrading of new job centres. Make use of these facilities to upgrade your skills and to look for job opportunities. Make use of the retraining programmes offered by the Government in the same Mini Budget to make yourself more marketable.

Retrenchment and unemployment is something everyone hopes they will never have to face. However, if the axe has fallen, be positive and strong. You will be able to come out of it again.

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In a bid to reduce unemployment in Malaysia, the Malaysian Government and Human Resource Ministry have started looking into handing over 15,000 jobs previously performed by foreigners back to the locals.

It is understood that some 15 sectors would be identified, with the services industry being one of them.

“The aim is to ensure that priority for these jobs is given to locals who have been retrenched,” Dr Subramaniam told a press conference after a courtesy visit to Menara Star here yesterday. (source)

Kudos to the Human Resource Ministry! But is this a good move in the long run? Read on below.

Suitable Jobs?

Foreign workers in Malaysian usually perform physical and manual labour in the construction industry, maid service or food and beverage business. If the retrenched locals are previously office workers, it might not be such a good fit for their skills. It would be good, though, to finally go to a coffee shop or restaurant and be able to communicate with the waiter without wondering what language to speak to them in!

Working For Less Pay?

Foreign workers are not highly paid in Malaysia. Often, these construction workers get by with less than RM1,000 a month. Are locals willing to work for these amounts in the dangerous conditions some foreign workers work in? If they pay locals more, this will ultimately be passed on to the customers and we will likely see a price increase in our food, drink and housing prices. It is for this very same reason why plumbers and electricians in Western countries cost more than doctors!

Its All About Profits

How about the employers?

Dr Subramaniam said employers would also be told that they should make work environments more attractive to keep their employees.  (source)

Making the work environment attractive means more cost to the employers and tighter margins in an already financially challenging times. With many employers fighting to stay liquid and avoid bankruptcy at this time, it might be hard to convince them to invest in soft skills such as training.

What do you think?

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For those who have just started working or are in the early years of their career, retirement is probably something very distant. However, it is never too early to start building your nest egg and working towards a successful retirement. Here are some tips on how you can start building your retirement funds early, especially if you are in your 20s or 30s.

Start Saving Your First Paycheck

Getting your first paycheck is a wonderful experience and it is only too easy to splurge it all on shopping, fine dining and travel. A recent article I read featured female shopaholics who spend an average of RM1,000 a month just on shopping! Shop and treat yourself, if you want to, but before you do that put aside just 10% of your pay into a savings account and increase that percentage over time as your salary grows. Don’t be like Becky Bloomwood in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”!

More retirement saving tips below.

Contribute Regularly To Your Pension Fund

In Malaysia, the EPF contribution rate was recently reduced to 8% from its previous 11%. If you can, don’t opt for the reduction in your EPF funds as it will form the bulk of your retirement nest egg 30 years down the road. If you can, look also for employers who pay more than the requisite 12% employer’s contribution into the fund. Some multinationals in the market pay up to 16% for each employee’s fund which is a substantial monthly contribution.

Start Investing Early

Being at the early stages of your life and career gives you the valuable gift of time. You have at least another 25 years to go before your retirement and hence, many good years of investing opportunities. So take advantage of the current economic downturn to identify undervalued stocks and investment opportunities to help you grow your retirement fund.

Pay Off Credit Card Debt

This is constantly repeated everywhere yet there are some who still do not pay off their credit cards and continue to max them out. It is expensive debt as the interest charges on them are high. Let us also not forget that it was ballooning debt that triggered the economic downturn. So, do not spend more than what you can afford and make it a habit to pay off your credit cards every month.

Start saving and investing wisely early and you will be glad for it in your retirement years!

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A recent survey by Citibank revealed some scary facts – That Malaysians do not save enough and many do not have enough to buffer them in the event of a job retrenchment!

According to the latest findings from Citi’s Financial Quotient (Fin-Q) 2008 survey, only two in five (39%) Malaysians actually save and less than one-in-three (28%) make and stick to a monthly budget.

In the event of a job loss but with continued regular expenses, one-in-five indicated their savings would last for only four weeks. On average, Malaysians reported having 11 weeks of savings in reserve. (source)

It is scary statistics indeed especially with job retrenchments looming and Asia set to lose 23 million jobs. So, beat the statistics with these great saving tips!

Set A Monthly Budget

Sit down and draw up a monthly budget. If you are married, sit with your spouse and discuss together how you should spend your monthly expenses. Planning is one, execution is another and you have to discipline yourselves to stick to your financial plans.

Pay Yourself First

Your budget should always include payment to yourself. It is a form of forced savings and a prudent target to begin with is at least 10% of your take-home salary. However, do try to increase this savings as your salary and expenditure adjusts.

Teach Children To Save

Start your children on the savings path from an early age with these tips to teach your children to save. Make it an enjoyable family event and you will have given them one of life’s best financial lessons.

Keep Going

Don’t give up on saving. Sometimes some months may be a little tight due to high insurance payments or unexpected events. Try to save whatever little you can and make up for it in the following months. Every little bit helps.

Spend Your Bonus Wisely

Bonuses now are far and few in between with many companies cutting costs and laying off staff. However, if you are lucky to get one, spend it wisely by saving and investing. Of course you should still reward yourself with a small portion of it but do save most of it to build up your emergency funds.

Previously, employees were advised to keep at least 3 months of their salary in cash to provide a sufficient buffer in the event of layoffs. Today, with inflation on the rise and the economic crisis, it will be wise to have at least 6 to 8 months buffer in cash to ensure you can ride out this storm.

Remember, it isn’t about how much you earn but how much you can save.

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The first Malaysian victim of the global economic crisis has fallen when his angry ex-staff shot him after he was fired.

KAJANG: A disgruntled former employee who was fired from a factory recently shot his ex-employer in Bandar Teknologi Kajang near here Wednesday morning. Yap Soo Yen, 41, from Bandar Sunway, Semenyih died on his way to the hospital from chest wounds. (source)

This comes not too long after Ervin Antonio Lupoe killed his wife and 5 children, blaming his layoffs in his suicide note.

How many more of these will there be?

Now’s the best time to ensure you keep your job and work hard at it.

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The financial crisis has left many jobless people in its wake as everyday we hear of job cuts in US and Europe. Even Malaysia has not been spared this chilling brutality with the Government already announcing that approximately 100,000 workers will lose their jobs by April (source)! It is indeed a scary thought especially since many of the younger working force have never lived through an economic crisis or seen wide-scale retrenchments before.

So, in these challenging times, how best can you protect your job to avoid becoming a statistic? Here are 5 tips on how best you can keep your job in an ailing economy.

Create Visibility For Yourself

Do not be afraid to take up new projects or new tasks at hand. The Chinese say that in every crisis lies an opportunity and hence, create that opportunity and visibility for yourself by stepping up to volunteer for ad-hoc projects or work.  However, do use your visibility carefully as a wrong move or mistake can also be visible…negatively!

Read more tips below and safe-guard your job!

Be Nice To Your Boss

Now is not the time to get involved in office politics. Avoid gossip and stepping on the wrong toes in the office. Instead be nice to your boss as they will be the ones who will likely fight for you in the event of any job cuts. A strong recommendation from them will also help you in looking for another job.

Add Value To The Company

Now, more than ever, is important to ensure your work adds value to your organisation. It is always easier for management to justify a role which is value-adding instead of slashing it. So be proactive and look for ways to make your job add value to the company.

Keep Learning

Continue to upgrade your own knowledge to ensure you are kept abreast of latest developments. Take this opportunity to also hone your skills in other areas of expertise as a highly skilled employee is always harder to let go.

Focus on Your Work

We’re all guilty of office gossip, personal calls and nipping the occasional office stationery during work hours. Learn to prioritize and focus on your work and not give management any excuse to dismiss you for wrongful behaviour. Keep those gossips and personal calls for lunch hours!

The world is going through economically trying times and with retrenchment and cost-cutting being high on many companies’ lists, do try to keep your job in this recession. Every cent earned is better than having no stable income! 

 On a light-hearted note, here is what you can do if you do not want your job!

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