I’ve worked through the festive holidays and while I have no problem doing so – it’s something I do every year – I do resent the fact the office is virtually empty.
There are 10 of us working in this small and medium enterprise (SME) and of the 10, eight are away. Should it be right that the boss allocates so many people leave at this time of the year? After all, business life rolls on and it makes it very hard to keep up with all the requests. SM, Dubai.
Hello SM, and dare I even attempt to pass on greetings for the holiday season because even if I did, I’m not sure you’re in the mood to receive. I really wish I could sit down and chat with you as it might just relieve some of your pent-up frustration, while at the same time provide me some insights into unanswered questions from your letter. I will however soldier on and answer the best way I can for now.
In a diverse and multicultural society, there’s bound to be:
Times and celebrations important for some that are not as important for others
Business requirements that require attention at times of all celebrations
Perceived inequity in the balancing act of catering for all employee’s needs over all these celebrations
My response to that is “that’s what is”. At other times of the year I guess you take all the good that such a society offers, so can it be fine and dandy all the time? One of my favourite sayings is “build a bridge and get over it”. In other words, find a way to work through your concerns and decide to be part of a solution. Some choices I would consider to your stated issues include:
Prepare a rotating roster for your boss, one that could be an answer to ensure holidays and business will co-exist next year. Perhaps this roster could split the full shift into two on festive days so one can celebrate in the morning and work in afternoon and vice versa.
Do an analysis that demonstrates the negative impact on business due to being undermanned; this should be a proactive way to begin a conversation with him.
From a practical viewpoint, you could start with a different question than “is it right for all these people to be off at the one time”, such as “with all the people off, I couldn’t keep the flow of orders going, nor deliver all the completed jobs – how do you feel about that, and what is the likelihood of more hands on deck next time”?
Decide how to be the ambassador of fun for those customers who you do deal when you are in the office alone.
If nothing else you’ll be a talking point of all the customers.
For the first five years of my life in Dubai, I too worked every Christmas Day, along with many of my expatriate colleagues. We were in the people business and there was simply no option but to look after our customers first. When I think back, we certainly became creative in ensuring that we had as much fun on that day as our customers, as that was the choice we took. In our case we had a workforce of about 200, so not as small as yours, yet the experience remains positively memorable for me.
Sometimes I believe reality checks are also a great balancing tool. When I look at your scenario from a different angle I see a person with a job and steady income, one that obviously has the respect and trust of the manager, one who is skilled enough to handle the operation single-handedly.
Is it time to ponder what any festive season could look like for you if you were unemployed, unskilled and worked in an establishment where you weren’t trusted?
Doctor's prescription
A healthy sense of humour and ability to make choices are in the gift I send to you today – apply them as you wish.
Debbie Nicol, the managing director of the Dubai-based business en motion, is a consultant on leadership and organisational development, strategic change and corporate culture. Email her at debbie.nicol@businessenmotion.com for the Workplace Doctor’s advice on your challenges, whether as an employee, a manager or a colleague
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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