<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Govt rules will not stop job interview bias 10 min
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Tuesday's letter, 'Job interview bias: Govt must step in'. It is simplistic to think that by barring employers from asking questions about a prospective employee's personal life, it will make life easier for women who intend to start families and be employed.
Upon starting work, these issues will surface sooner or later and it makes matters a lot worse if expectations are not put on the table from the outset. If you are good at what you do, your company will still want you even if you make it clear you intend to marry or have children in the short term. If they do not, perhaps you are not suited to that particular enterprise, because the company will probably not support you through the season of life, even if you have been with them longer.
Companies hire staff to help them make money. It is understandable if SMEs prefer not to hire someone whose ultimate cost is higher than what she can generate, because it just does not make economic sense.
In fact, it affects other people working full time because these costs eat into bonuses and other perks.
I know of people who are great contributors to their organisation and are kept on staff through long medical and maternity leave.
Mediocre performers in the same organisation do not get the same treatment because they are not strong performers in the first place.
I agree that much can be done to boost the birth rate in Singapore, but it should not always be at the expense of the company. Monica Wong (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Tuesday's letter, 'Job interview bias: Govt must step in'. It is simplistic to think that by barring employers from asking questions about a prospective employee's personal life, it will make life easier for women who intend to start families and be employed.
Upon starting work, these issues will surface sooner or later and it makes matters a lot worse if expectations are not put on the table from the outset. If you are good at what you do, your company will still want you even if you make it clear you intend to marry or have children in the short term. If they do not, perhaps you are not suited to that particular enterprise, because the company will probably not support you through the season of life, even if you have been with them longer.
Companies hire staff to help them make money. It is understandable if SMEs prefer not to hire someone whose ultimate cost is higher than what she can generate, because it just does not make economic sense.
In fact, it affects other people working full time because these costs eat into bonuses and other perks.
I know of people who are great contributors to their organisation and are kept on staff through long medical and maternity leave.
Mediocre performers in the same organisation do not get the same treatment because they are not strong performers in the first place.
I agree that much can be done to boost the birth rate in Singapore, but it should not always be at the expense of the company. Monica Wong (Ms)
