Me Time!
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lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134505\" time=\"1717211727\" user_id=\"17023:
Just returned from Japan, and was told that many old people do litter picking and other menial jobs without pay, i.e. as a volunteer. I don't think their getting paid for it is a bad thing. Some people don't seek to do a job that pays better for reasons like distance, timing, less need for brainwork etc. We can't discern their reasons just by looking at them.
The sight of so many old folks in these low-skill, dirty and heavy jobs, is giving Singapore a notorious reputation. -
lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134503\" time=\"1717209854\" user_id=\"17023:
\"lacking prestige\" means that people look down on that job, and by extension, the person doing the job. Yes, let's call a spade a spade.
Menial is just a description. Menial means not requiring much skills and lacking prestige. Describing a job as menial simply means it doesn’t require much skills and it doesn’t mean you don’t respect the person doing the job. No need to project one’s value onto an adjective used. Let’s just call a spade, a spade. -
slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2134513\" time=\"1717219402\" user_id=\"28674:
I don’t know how many % of senior cleaners out there do it solely for social interaction purposes and how many really need the income for subsistence. Maybe my heart will feel better if a survey by govt says 90% of senior cleaners out there are doing it for fun.
Just returned from Japan, and was told that many old people do litter picking and other menial jobs without pay, i.e. as a volunteer. I don't think their getting paid for it is a bad thing. Some people don't seek to do a job that pays better for reasons like distance, timing, less need for brainwork etc. We can't discern their reasons just by looking at them.
My aunt who was a cleaner previously before told me not just get scoldings from supervisor but also from unreasonable customers. So being paid also means supervisors expect staff to work and work, not paid to chit chat with others -
lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134515\" time=\"1717220934\" user_id=\"17023:
Societal change is really needed in that case. Why should workers in certain jobs be scolded more than others?
My aunt who was a cleaner previously before told me not just get scoldings from supervisor but also from unreasonable customers. So being paid also means supervisors expect staff to work and work, not paid to chit chat with others -
starlight1968sg\" post_id=\"2134510\" time=\"1717216649\" user_id=\"14025:
Agree. I’ve always taken a stand to treat everyone with due respect & try to stand up for those mistreated or bullied. When DH first got yo know me, he thot I was meddling but realized I stand up for ppl w/o feeling embarrassment even with those in authority.
My late mum worked as a cleaner at many places.
My dad worked as a cleaner when he was young.
Hence i understood the prejudice faced by cleaners.
They are usually being looked down upon. We need cleaners else who will sweep the common areas, wash the public toilets, clean the bus stop etc.
Hence there is this Progressive Wage Model to assist them to earn a better income.
My office has a cleaner. She often buys me breakfast though I dont really hv the habit to eat it. In return, i make an effort to save a packet of lunch (yes, my workplace has lunch) whenever possible for her bec i knew by the time she cleaned to my office, it is close to lunch time.
Whenever I see her, she reminds me of my mum who told me some office people treated her nicely with respect. Others couldnt be bothered or even bullied her. I just hope that all treat each other with respect.
A cleaner is somebody's mum or dad. Whatever reasons they do this job dont matter, we hv to acknowledge we cant do w/o them.
They’re possibly our own mothers, aunties or someone related somehow - fellow human. Similarly, behind every policy & success of SG, we hv those working hard behind the scene to analyse & recommend fact-based directions for our fellow S’poreans whether in housing, tpt or workplace safety.
I always admire those architects, those who manage our reserves & economy to know how to pitch our exchange rates, etc. Policymakers depend on their diligence. A cleaner or tea lady presents themselves to provide that excellent warm cuppa of comfort & hygiene environment for all of us to work in.
No matter what, I truly appreciate how these cleanliness had helped us S’poreans to be thankful & proud we’re not living in unhygienic dumps. I s’times cringe at the toilets I hv to bear with when even crossborder in not far ashore my homeland, or suffer the potholes when travelling in the roads of foreign land. Grateful indeed hor our cleaners & road sweepers. They did a very decent job! Pun intended. -
lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134461\" time=\"1717131794\" user_id=\"17023:
Yes, i am referring to what is needed to be looked at. How to do that ? Is a million dollar qn. But should not deter us from addressing it.
Huh??? No way to tell which foreigner will genuinely treat SG as their home bah…. So I guess the cultural integration part must be done well or else Singaporeans will be irked by their cultural differences (such as food trays left uncleared after eating by FTs). I feel that Malaysians integrate easier into our country than PRCs and South Asians -
slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2134513\" time=\"1717219402\" user_id=\"28674:
Cleaning is a physical job. Not suitable for old folks actually.
Just returned from Japan, and was told that many old people do litter picking and other menial jobs without pay, i.e. as a volunteer. I don't think their getting paid for it is a bad thing. Some people don't seek to do a job that pays better for reasons like distance, timing, less need for brainwork etc. We can't discern their reasons just by looking at them.
There are many ways to keep themselves busy if there are better options. Now in hdb estates, there are elderly active centres with different programmes to sign up for. There are elderly day care centres to volunteer at, help older seniors. Travelling in public transport is discounted, can go library to read news papers. Cc, parks?
Think the discussion has disgressed from the OP. Actually, all jobs will be subjected to unreasonable bosses and customers. Not just cleaning jobs. Most of us are not looking down on cleaners. I throw my own waste in my own small plastic bags and throw it at another main bin point instead of my own desk bin. I feel uncomfortable (heartache) to have seniors clearing my bin. One has to bend down to reach the bin. Even if we pass the bin to the cleaner, she still has to carry the whole bag to bring it to the collecting point. Same with vacuuming. Need to bend down to reach the power plug on the floor. What's more to see them clear tables and tray at hawker or food courts. Have to carry the dishes balancing them on the trays and pushing the fully loaded carts, can be very heavy. Heart pain to see that.
So it is the right direction that there is no need now. In the uk, we see old folks at cashier instead, doing non physical jobs. I see aunties here at self checkout or cashier at ntuc. This is alright.
I don't think we were talking abt cultural integration issues, lnw has misread. Seeing more inappropriate scenes, and hoping for changes in future should not be discouraged. No feedback, no better future isn't it.
A future where there is no need to have so many cleaners; we all clean up after ourselves, so there is no need to dependent on cleaners for our cleanliness.... And with self cleaning toilet bowls... Hopefully, this future is near. -
slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2134516\" time=\"1717221699\" user_id=\"28674:
Hmmm… not say look down on cleaners lah, just that some jobs get more scoldings because they face the public? Like hospital nurses, hearsay even doctors, restaurant managers, customer service officers etc., are all in this group of public-facing staff who face the heat from the public. Not to mention demanding supervisors who drive their staff mercilessly to deflect any blame from the public.
Societal change is really needed in that case. Why should workers in certain jobs be scolded more than others? -
The cleaning aunty at my office is a lovely lady in her 60s. She is on the PWM, and she has been receiving PWM bonus every year (which she saves to go her on umrah trip). She does not prefer to be a cashier at a supermarket as the pace of work is far more harried and she is not confident of operating a cashier till as well as the gamut of payment systems and vouchers. The working environment is presumably also more harried compared with office cleaning which she gets regular office hours, and more ‘own time own target’ in some sense as nobody micromanages her work to the minute unlike cashiering work. I’m glad its working out for her.
Apart from cleaners, there are also waste management sector workers, many of whom are foreigners. I have heard from friends working in town councils etc that Singaporeans have not been bagging their waste ever since supermarkets charge for plastic bags. It’s actually making life very unpleasant and difficult for people working in this sector. Our level of social graces and consideration needs to go beyond picking up after ourselves at hawker centres and food courts. I actually cannot imagine what Singapore is like without even a day of cleaners and waste management workers. In many foreign countries, these services may not be provided on a daily basis. -
Need some advice, pls.
When stir fry veg, do you add some stuff like little black fungus? Besides this, what else can we add?
Thank you.
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