Dear Editor,
I refer to The Independent Singapore’s featured news: Employee asks how to deal with his employer who’s biased and does not balance his workload properly (June 16).
By right, as a superior or an employer, he/she should know the capability, strengths and weaknesses of his/her employees or subordinates reasonably well and assign tasks according to each employee’s capability and strength.
By doing so, it will ensure the successful accomplishment of the entrusted assignments. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of manpower deployment, and the productivity will deteriorate in due course.
This right approach to manpower deployment and task assignment/management is clearly in tune with or corroborates Sun Tzu’s Art of War Section V: Energy, which states:
“The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy.”
We can’t simply rule out the possibility of bias, unfairness, and bullying in workplaces.
However, when we encounter unfair treatment from our supervisor/superior, we should first tolerate and observe the situation for a reasonable time to assess whether any continued repetition exists.
Once we verify that the abuse and unfairness occur regularly, we should approach the specific superior and calmly reason and check with him/her for the actual cause(s) behind it.
We should let the specific superior know our thoughts and feelings. Most importantly, the appropriate approach must be sought to resolve the entanglement, misunderstanding, or problem.
Let me quote a phrase in the Dao De Jing to espouse the essence of seeking fairness or “retaliation” — “When things develop to their limit, they will go to the opposite side. This is the law of movement of Tao. Tao uses its weakness to play its role”.
Teo Kueh Liang
Featured image: Depositphotos
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore
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