FIRST DAY at work
I trudge along the stained concrete sidewalk at 6 am, trying to ignore the cold Atlantic Seaboard wind clawing at my body. The stream of noise around me begins to increase, a signal that the belly of the city is beginning to awaken. I walk towards the Newsroom, as my heart begins to beat furiously at the thought of what lies ahead.
A question I’ve toyed with over and over again, appears unashamedly:
Did I even choose the right career? Or am I simply stuck in the wrong industry?
I trudge further along the sidewalk taking in festive decorations that are still remaining.
Every roadblock creates charged reactions from people inside the taxi, and tempers are heating. The desperate driver tries to find an alternative road. The inner-taxi dynamics are as precarious as a homemade electrical circuit.
Again the question arises and I silently pray that the traffic keeps me a minute longer from reaching the Newsroom.
The cacophony and the city’s pulse is infectious. City vendors have begun to prepare their stalls and ready their crafts. Although vendors and their vulnerable stalls have to endure unbearable weather conditions as well as mournful customers trying to negotiate a price,
they still have something that I am craving for…
You might be confused. I’m working for one of South Africa’s leading media houses, so what could I possibly crave from a vendor selling goods from a plastic stall?
The answer is simple- their happiness.
I try to gather my thoughts as I step into the newsroom lift and wait to step out onto the 4th floor. An old fashionable woman, in her late 50’s smiles at me and offers me a “Happy New Year”.
I give her my famous rude stare and try to shut her out before she tries a follow-up question. This orchestrated stare has saved me for the whole of 2017; it has been my mask and saved me from answering the question:
Are you fine?
I would be selfish, wouldn’t I? If i dared to admit my true feelings and allow my sorrows to spill out and announce themselves. Most people don’t care what your response is to that question. ‘I’m Fine’ is the expected response and one that maintains the status quo.
Same old newsroom setting. Silly me thought that things would be different in the new year. I thought maybe the newsroom would be more vibrant and colourful.
The security at the entrance greets me, “Sisi Unjani” (How are you lady).
I smile back at him and wave, he is the only thing close to colourful in the newsroom.
As I walk inside, people are already tense. Up and down the smokers take turns escaping into the smoking room; one lady roars into her phone. The editors make their way into the boardroom to prepare for their AM diary meeting.
NOW LET's Check the Stats
According to the latest reports from the International workforce company, the ManpowerGroup, which focuses on measuring the Total Workforce Index, souring, hiring and retaining workforce worldwide.
South Africa ranked 24th out of the total ranking of 75 countries internationally. The study further found that the average South African worker works exactly 9 hours a day. Which is under an hour more when compared to other parts of Africa, European and Middle-Eastern (EMEA) countries.
Which results to an average work week of 45 hours for South Africans, compared to 41.6 hours in EMEA countries. The global stereotype of 9:00 am-17:00 pm doesn’t apply to South Africans, as workers are encouraged to start early and leave late without being paid over time, the study reveals.
Not only are South African employees expected to work overtime compared to EMEA counterparts. South African employees are also underpaid (cheap labour), with an average monthly salary of (R18,230), compared to the regional EMEMA average (R25,654) and the global average of (R26,665).
Archaic computers, forlorn faces, telephones ringing all day consumes the space. The TV screen is set on one specific channel; the announcements of death, the rise and fall of the rand, and the failures of government. A constant soundtrack that punctuates every hour.
Photo credit: Pixels
People don't dress up in the newsroom. The absence of colour is the embodiment of our duties. We relay the facts, stay objective, be the watchdog. Colour is subjective and frivolous. Even the lights maintain a dull glow.
As mentioned by Access Blog, on the statistics about millennial employee and engagement. Building a workplace that is Millennial friendly doesn’t mean getting rid of everything that worked for previous generations.
As you can see from this Newsroom scenario, millennials can be traditional in some senses - they want good compensation, fair benefits, friends in the office, the chance to grow and develop, and a few corporate perks thrown in to sweeten the deal.
But millennials different background has led them to approach companies with a different perspective. For example, being raised in a layoff culture has led them to view loyalty in terms of months, not years.
Also, their mobile technology-centric lifestyles have made them view the traditional, 9-5, cubicle-dwelling work arrangement as outdated
Still not convinced? Let's check more Stats
41% of millennials expect to be in their current job for two years or less (compared to 17% of Gen X and 10% of Boomers) (Job Applicator Center)
40% of millennials say they are “somewhat” committed to their employer (ReportLinker)
29% of millennials are engaged at work, 16% are actively disengaged, 55% are not engaged (Gallup)
44% of Millennials say, if given the choice, they expect to leave their current employers in the next two years (Deloitte)
32% of workers ages 18-35 say they can see themselves leaving their job within a year
This is not how I imagined my life after school, at all.
This is the reality not presented to me by any of my textbooks. The only academic advice shared was to successfully complete our qualifications and that there are a countless number of jobs waiting for us. Millennials my age, who remain back home and work as cashiers still uphold this unrealistic expectation.
Every time I go home for holidays and count cents at a till to pay for the groceries, they always give me a doubtful look. I am sure in their minds they’re thinking, you have graduated, you have a job, why are you counting cents and not signing a cheque?
Dear matrics...
I am sorry to kill your dreams, but unfortunately this assumption does not hold up in the real world. Unless of course you are privileged enough to make a few phone calls and sort out everything by saying that you are the child of so and so...
FALSE EQUATION
Steps to a perfect life
Finish matric
Enrol for tertiary
Get a good paying job
Get a house
Travel the world.
What they don’t know is that I still need to pay back NSFAS and unfortunately, my paycheck doesn’t have many zeros due not to having equivalent working experience.
This is something that really bothers me about the world of work. After you graduate and are ready to work the employer wants a minimum of 3 years experience. Where are you supposed to get working experience from when you were at school studying? It’s not like we don’t work during study time. We do work but unfortunately, we only qualify for general work. Like being a waiter, bartender or a promoter.
If I even try to complain about being stuck, my mother will respond, “look around. people your age in our community are either jobless or work as cashiers in stores, be grateful”.
Where I come from, this will be regarded as “cheese girl problems”. All you see on my instagram feed is Jane the *Baller, attending elite events and posing with celebrities.
At least that’s one of the perks of this job. Or so I thought. Getting media access to all the hip and happening events, so that you can write about them and give them publicity.
At first, the events calendar used to be what I looked forward to. But I’ve come to realise that the events are just a lie. The events aren’t my reality, they only make me taste a world that my paycheck can’t even afford.
I wonder about all those “celebrity friends” I made in a minute. I wonder if they’d recognise me without the designer garments.Those laughs and smiles in my feed are pretences.
How can you be truly happy when you always have to worry about not making the designer garment dirty? Or worrying about the tag showing when you move?
Hey world,
This is my REALITY. I am but one in this fast-paced Newsroom. Down the path that is taking me further away from my happiness.
I crave a different world where I belong. I am at a crossroad, sharing my thoughts with you on this blog. I hope that you, reader, would add colour to my world.
Making career choices: Advice from our Mzansi Top 100, entrepreneur and gender activist- Lindiwe Dhlamini
Jane Folodi chats to Lindiwe Dhlamini about the importance of choosing careers...
Choosing a career path can be complicated, scary and confusing. At worst, this process can also be depressing. According to a study conducted by the IDEA study of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2016. Depression costs South Africa more than R232bn or 5.7% of the country’s GDP due to lost productivity either due to absence from work or attending work while unwell.
With so much pressure to become successful and pull your act together. Choosing the right career can be a daunting experience. This doesn’t need to be rocket science when you choose a career among many other factors one should choose a career based on your interests, skills and there should be a need of the skills set.
Dhlamini is a University of Cape Town graduate in Social Science but started off with studying social work, an entrepreneur and the founder of a community based social organisation Injabulo projects which was started in 2012 when Dhlamini’s cousin almost took his life due to bullying. The project seeks to educate high scholars about diversity, acceptance and danger of bullying.
The importance of choosing the career that suits your personality, Dhlamini recalls from experience...
“I think the best advice I would give is somebody must study what they’re passionate about because for me accepting the offer to study social work when I knew it wasn’t what I wanted was kind of an issue of I need to get in, right?”, says Dhlamini
Dhlamini was raised in a disadvantaged black community, therefore like many other black students she could not afford university fees straight after completing matric. Therefore she had to work 9 years trying to support her family needs, her own basic needs and also saving for university.
“Because I never got a chance to get in at the beginning so I was like ‘Ok, let me get in, I can be able to change when I’m inside’, which is what happened. But then I would advise people to choose what they’re passionate about and in terms of institution, well, if somebody had told me four years ago that the University of Cape Town is the number one in Africa, I would have laughed in their face, as this dream seemed like it would never be attainable after waiting 7 years before going to university.”, says Dhlamini.
Why work for someone, when you can employ someone?
Dlhamini wished to pursue her postgraduate qualification, unfortunately NSFAS only funds students until undergraduate. Therefore she started her own business- The waterless car wash as a money source, so that she can afford to pay for her postgraduate fees, create sustainable job opportunities for youth in her community and also this was a way to help the city of Cape Town counteract the current water shortages.
When young people think of entrepreneurship they always think of something big, I am not saying that you can’t think big. However, be realistic and start identifying a need in your community and cater for it, advises Dhlamini.
According to the latest reports from electronic National Administration Information Systems (eNatis) there’s a total estimation of 12 027 860 registered vehicles in South Africa. Therefore waterless car wash is a system where vehicle owners can wash their cars without using water.
Support Black bossiness, go get your car cleaned at Lindiwe's water-less car wash and save water.
Join in the conversation. If you also feel stuck in your career or at any point in your life, please drop us a comment on any of our social media pages. Facebook: The Unspoken Monologue, like and comment. Your story will be featured (:
Kasi Dictionary:
*Baller- A person who finds success and wealth
Cheese girl- A child who grew up in a wealthy family
Sisi Unjani?- Lady, how are you?
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