“How’s work? Like that lor, what to do?”
“If I don’t work, how to survive?”
How many times have you heard your colleagues, your friends, your family members, or even yourself echoing these sentiments?
It’s easy to fall into the ‘stoic’ mindset that work is just something you have to grit your teeth and just get through, no matter how unpleasant it is.
What if we told you that this mindset often makes it harder for us to honestly evaluate our career health, which could have long-reaching impacts on the quality of our lives?
There is no perfect job; every role you take on has ups and downs. But considering that most Singaporeans work up to 44.5 hours a week – that’s about a quarter of the total hours in a week – it is wise to make sure that this very vital part of our lives is fulfilling our needs.
What is Career Health? Why Does it Matter?
If you started getting sick very frequently, or got aches and pains all over your body, isn’t the prudent thing to do to see a doctor to make sure these symptoms aren’t a sign of a larger health problem?
This is exactly the same with career health. Feeling stagnant and bored at your job may seem like a minor inconvenience or part and parcel of adulting. However, these could be symptoms of a bigger problem that could snowball and eventually become near-impossible to manage.
If you think career health is just an abstract concept, think again: according to a study published by Telus Health in June 2024, two-thirds of Singaporean workers suffer from at least one symptom of burnout, which could lead to insomnia, depression, and physical health conditions such as heart disease.
Managing your career health also isn’t just some passing trend – even the Singaporean government has become increasingly concerned about this. In the Committee of Supply (COS) debate in 2023, Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng said this:
“Better career health is key to helping our workers move up the career ladder, stay current and employable, or switch to a new job that better matches their skills and interests.”
If you are:
- Feeling like your career is going nowhere
- Feeling constantly overworked and underpaid
- Constantly daydreaming about changing jobs
– it’s probably a sign that you need to take a good, hard look at your career health before these symptoms escalate.
So, How Do I Assess My Career Health?
To this end, the government has provided resources for workers to accurately assess and take action on their career health. For example, the MyCareersFuture portal actually has a fun little quiz you can take to see if your career health is flourishing or down in the dumps.
The quiz contains 10 simple questions you can ask yourself to evaluate your career health. Of course, in true Singaporean fashion, the quiz is an MCQ, and has its own scoring system.
Assessing and managing your career health isn’t solely a worker’s responsibility either. If you are a business owner or manager, it’s important to monitor your staff’s career health and keep them in tip-top shape – after all, happy employees are productive employees!
Workforce Singapore has a detailed page on their website filled to the brim with resources for managers and business owners that can help them maintain and optimise their employees’ career health.
If you suspect that your career health isn’t in its best state, here are some ways you can give it a boost!
1. Invest In Yourself – Upskill!
Remember when parents used to lecture their children for ‘playing video games’ as they believed games would be detrimental to their futures? Well, gaming is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
The market is always changing, and it can be hard to predict when the next boom will occur. Conversely, that cushy job you have right now may not be as stable five years from now. How do you keep yourself ahead of the game?
The answer: upskilling.
Our government provides numerous avenues for both workers and employers to constantly upgrade themselves and learn new skills to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest industry trends, and ensure that no worker in Singapore will be a one-trick pony.
SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) offers all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents up to 70% upfront subsidies for upskilling courses, and up to S$1,500 worth of SkillsFuture credits to be used on top of the existing upfront subsidies to pay for these courses.
Let’s put this into perspective, for an individual above 40 years old receiving a 70% SkillsFuture subsidy, it would cost only S$245.70 (before SkillsFuture Credit utilisation), to be professionally certified in the Introduction to AI Tools for Content Creation course worth S$686.70 with FirstCom Academy. That’s an investment in yourself that’s worth making.
To pad your C.V. with qualifications, and to keep yourself relevant and competitive, do yourself a favour by upskilling!
2. Build a Career Plan
Would you go to any unfamiliar place without a map?
As a working adult, you’re going to have a career for about the next few decades of your life. That’s a really long time. Would you really want to spend several decades of your life meandering about different jobs without a game plan?
A career plan doesn’t have to be extremely detailed, and it’s almost impossible for you to account for every industry trend or market landscape change when you’re crafting this plan. However, you can start by being sure about your strengths and weaknesses, setting clear and realistic goals, and doing some research about the industry or industries you plan to be in.
You shouldn’t be stagnant, and neither should your career plan! As you meet goals or even obstacles in your career, take some time to review your plan with the knowledge and experience you have gained over time. Is your plan still relevant? Have your goals changed? Keep asking yourself these questions from time to time.
3. Speak to Your Peers!
Without a mirror or a selfie camera, it’s impossible for you to see what you look like. Similarly, it’s almost as hard to objectively evaluate your career on your own.
Actively seeking feedback from the people around you who are actually impacted by your work is the best way to find out if you have areas to improve in – your colleagues, your manager, and even your friends will be the most objective evaluators you can get.
You don’t have to limit yourself to your social circle either; in your professional life, you are bound to have met at least one or two people who are in a job or at a place in their careers that you wish you were in. Don’t be shy – ask them questions about how they reached where they are.
Conclusion
Our careers are a huge part of our lives, and we should remember that our careers can work for us rather than against us. Being mindful of our career health, and maintaining it by actively upskilling, building a solid career plan, and seeking feedback from our peers can greatly benefit us.
