Having more or less concluded my day with a nice packet of Nasi Biryani from some nearby Indian Stall called “7 Star Restaurant”, I shall now sit down to relate the very interesting events that have transpired earlier.

Whilst cracking my brain and popping my eyes out on the most current company project – A new line of products, I chanced upon a UK site which provided really unique gift ideas and solutions, almost entirely what I was looking for. This is the first ever service stop I have seen that has truly taken gifts beyond the norm. They even have real estate gifts (though I shall not mention the nature).

I also bought a very special plot of land in the late morning. I shall believe that this is an entirely worthy investment, for the price is, if I may say, Dirt Cheap. It’s quite big too, an acre or so, though I am not sure how big an acre actually is. Will probably buy a few more acres after the first deed reaches my hands.

In the afternoon, 5 kids came down to my office for a job interview / trial. The job offer was to mass produce some art and craft works, for the new line of gifts that my company is about to launch.

I must admit to have a slight prejudice against employing any Singaporean at all, for the service standards and work attitude I have encountered thus far can only be rated “pitiful” on the regional and international scene. Nevertheless, I took my chances with this lot, and learnt a truly valuable lesson.

The 5 kids, aged 14 to 18, came into my conference room in Bermudas and slippers. While this may not be any executive position, the very fact that one has to step into a commercial building would prompt a more decent dress code. Oh well, never mind that.

I conducted a short briefing, introducing the company and the project. After which I led the pack into a room specially setup up for these craft works. Instruction books and art materials of even the slightest relevance were abundantly provided for, and I even gave tips on how certain folds were to be made to ensure precision. Meals and refreshments were also part of the package.

After 3 hours, the pack presented to me their works, and of the 23 items I require, none actually lived up to the standards, not even the simplest of the variations – the 6-fold mini tulip. The room was in a mess, with drinks spilled over the table, packet food left in disarray and art materials scattered on the floor.

The scene was so shocking I couldn’t even start to feel an ounce of rage. Perhaps these kids took this as a day’s outing, to simply experience the kicks of fooling around in a corporate office. Or perhaps they simply could not be bothered if they got the job or not, considering the fact that a concept of “earning a living’ was too alien to our 4th generation workforce.

As the pack left my office in nonchalance, one even had the cheek to ask me to sponsor their cab fare home. I could only muster enough self control to keep my jaws from falling apart. Such is the making of our next generation, a bunch of genuine good-for-nothings who have grown up under the luminous veil of seeming prosperity.

I wonder to myself – Is this the workforce I have to employ in future as my company expands. Considering the current 1 to 4 foreign to local employment directive per company, does that mean I can only get 1 good worker in 5? Not to mention the one good worker will be paid significant lesser than the 5 other slackers.

At the present moment, I can even start to sympathize with the policy makers for keeping our citizens constantly poor. Poor people are diligent workers. While this policy is theoretically correct, I was pondering if it actually is still applicable to an economy comprising of workers who are so poor they start deluding themselves into thinking they are actually quite well-to-do.

Well, well, whatever the case, a valuable lesson is waiting to be caught; move labour force requirements out of this country, as large a percentage as possible. Keep a minimal core of competent people around and discard the rest, for this majority are so incompetent they can do damage by just sitting around.