Favoritism

Salam and good day readers,

While I was busy thinking of some quality write-up topic to be written as my blog entry yesterday, a colleague of mine came to my workstation. We, then, started talking about life, our children, human nature and etc.

It's always interesting to bring up a topic that we could discuss and  be able to express whatever we have in our minds to others. I appreciate all the pros and cons that happen in life. In any aspect, there will always be a wide, various ranges of opinions which can be complementary or opposing towards each other. To be specific, we did discuss about 'favoritism'. Thank you Laili  for the fruitful discussion! 

People with a positive attitude are often favored for their energetic and outgoing personalities. People happy with their jobs are more productive. People with a less positive attitude can bring the morale of the entire work force down. All it takes is one bad apple. Favoritism exist everywhere. It starts in school, maybe even as low as grade school, and continues all the way up until you die. That's just the way the world works right now. People with better looks are often favored over less attractive workers. Being qualified for your job is very important. Many people considers themselves qualified but end up not getting that promotion. Perhaps these people are shy or don't come off as intelligent. Men are more likely to ask their bosses for a raise. Women are less likely to speak up and fight for that position. Sometimes it comes down to sexism, class-ism, or racism. But mostly I think it comes down to butt kissing. You need to make friends in high places, mingle with them and that's how it has always been.

Take favoritism, discrimination or prejudice in the workplace that has transformed our lives into an unpleasant and complex network of human interactions. More often than not, we don't eaven know where we stand. Forced into a maze of possible pathways, thinking of 'what', 'why' or 'how' is harder when it is deep-rooted in the organization's culture and is cascaded from the very top. And then we talk about our company core values....heyy, thats funny isn't it?

We always use modern concepts such as 'corporate social responsibility', 'fair-trade', 'sustainability', 'social enterprise', 'well-being' and 'work-life balance'..(million thanks to Prof Razli for introducing me all those concepts). Talking from a macro prespective, organizations seem to be heading in the right direction. However, a closer look at the individual may reaveal a contradictory personal picture. Let us face it, western or eastern, individualistic or collectivist, we are all harried at some stage of our career by these internal politics.

What say you guys about this issue?

My du'a is...may Allah swt always give us strength to face all the challenges and blessed our journey of life ~ Amin