The Importance of Balance Between Life and Work

I have selected an organization that is well known in Malaysia. The organization is my employer which is Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). This organization vision is foremost in maintaining a safe secure and prosperous Malaysia and the vision is to provide professional and quality services in protecting the country to ensure public safety, security and prosperity. The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) (Malay: Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), is a (primarily) uniformed federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralized organization. The police force is led by an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) who, as of September 2017, was Tan Sri Dato' Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun. As for the director of Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) is known as CP Dato’ Sri Abdul Ghafar bin Rajab. He is the director of Human Resources Unit of Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). The number of officers and sub-ordinates are large in number and it keeps increasing due to the needs of enhancing a safe and secure Malaysia. This organization is special because the constitution, control, employment, recruitment, funding, discipline, duties and powers of the police force are specified and governed by the Police Act 1967.

It is important to note that when officers and sub-ordinates have the right to balance between career and family, it is actually can affect human resource management in positive ways. Firstly, this is because officers and sub-ordinates will be more productive. If officers and sub-ordinates are given the opportunity to have a healthy work-life balance, it is not only essential to their well being but it also can boost their productivity. I am in the opinion that a good human resources management of an organization is the one who give the opportunity for the workers to think other things than their heavy workloads in the office. It is not normal for the workers to switch off their hand phones at home just because they are afraid to be disturbed by the organizations. I think a good management of the institution will not disturb their quality time with the family on the weekend. The workers will be happier and will come back brighter on the next week. However, it depends on the organization. Like in Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), we have different kind of shifts that we must comply to, but in the end, it will be best if our quality time with family is available despite of the heavy workloads that we must fulfill.

Besides that, we will have more ‘our time’ if we can balance between career and family. I do believe that the workloads are never finished in any organization, and there will be no ending works. A bad organization will usually have workers where they tend to make excuses because they rarely get free time. It is actually bad and can eventually affect the organization. The workers should be able to have their free time or ‘me time’ so that they can release their stress at work by doing some other things for example, reading books, going abroad to travel and so many more. They should not sacrifice their hobbies for the sake to be good workers. I know that many organizations always favor best workers, but the organization should take the first step to give some time to their workers to enjoy their life. I am in the view that it will actually improve the workers loyalty, commitment and motivation towards the organization. After all, work is not the only place you can learn and develop, as making the most of free time will add some much needed variation and enjoyment into our life as workers.

Next, it is the time when you can actually enjoy working despite of the heavy workloads. A good organization that takes care their workers is actually far from having shocking staff reduction and also can save a lot on recruitment costs. Even though the markets of job seekers are widely opened, but conducting interview sessions can cost a lot. It is because they need to allocate some time to do the interview sessions and the interviewers must be ready to conduct the interviews, it is actually can cause loss to the organization. It will be better if the organization use the time to generate income and improve services. Though Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) uses different system of recruiting officers and sub-ordinates, but I do believe the effect will be the same if the organization does not put the workers welfare first. Eventually, it will lead to more positive working environments. It is a fact that a hatred for the job is actually one of the most common signs of a non-existent work-life balance. It should not have to be that way. We as officers and sub-ordinates should know when to switch off and it is often the best way to give just the right amount of time to our job, not to mention, allow ourselves to actually enjoy the time we are there.

Last but not least, a balance between work and life can make us stop missing out. I think those who overwork have one thing in common which is that everything in their lives except work probably isn’t going as well as it could. Among the common signs and symptoms include they always being the guy/girl who misses the best social gathering of the week, their anniversary, their child’s first word, or a really funny ‘you just had to be there’ moment. It will be bad if they are too focus in their works because there are so many other things that they should appreciate in their lives. It would be best if they can have the opportunity to go to a nightly dinner with their partner or a weekly film night with their best friend because there is always time to actually have a life outside of work. And without it, I think they could be suffering from some serious mental problem and it would be bad if it leads to depression. I as an officer also looks forward to achieve my goal to work extra hard to earn bonus points at Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), but my relationships and social life should never be sacrificed as a result.

If most of employees in a workplace are women, among the biggest issues that can affect human resource management in the organization is that about pregnancy issue. I am not saying that women are not capable to work especially when they are in Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) but sometimes I do think that the working environments are not very suitable for them. Relating to the issue above, I think it will be more difficult for them to carry on with their jobs. I have the opinion that being working women can become extremely difficult when it comes to having a baby. Many women are afraid of starting a family knowing that their career will most likely be affected. In fact, many women lose their jobs as the result of a pregnancy or having had a child, while many female workers return to work only to realize that their job duties have changed or that they can no longer progress within their role. It is not similar when it comes to men. It does not mean that they do not have the same issue when becoming a father, but it would be lesser compared to women. Hence, men with children will not face the same difficulties as compared to women.

This issue of sexual harassment is quite troublesome. It is because it is like no ending issue. We know that Royal Malaysian Police taskforces are dominating by male. But we also have quite big numbers of women workers. As this issue is everywhere, I cannot deny the fact that this issue happened. Plus, this tricky topic of workplace sexism and harassment has become even more evident in recent years, with women plucking up the courage to share their horrific stories. I do feel sad that women are still faced with this kind of challenges in the workplace. I do not know the reason why this is still happening. Sometimes people always blame for their attires. But, if a woman does not dresses her best and pays careful attention to the details of her appearance, others can assume she is not professional. But, when they put some effort on it, they will think it will be too attractive. Despite of all that, I think that we are all equal in the workplace, so if a colleague tries to belittle you, pluck up the courage and put the sexist pig back in his place. I know it is challenging for the women to be opened up her mind, but women nowadays have more courage to do so.

However, it does not mean women cannot contribute. Women actually are intelligent problem solvers. I cannot deny that females are perceptive, intuitive and sensitive, so they often pick up on non-verbal cues, making them effective problem solvers. In the past, women were often viewed as overly sensitive, irrational, emotional creatures, unfit for the workplace. But as time goes by, women do change for better. In reality, a woman's sensitive nature helps her to uncover unspoken messages, making her a living sonar device. Based on the book of The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara Pease, the authors state that most women understand body language and perceive signs of unhappiness, frustration, stress, insecurity and confusion much better than men. As a result, they offer the advantage of being able to address workplace concerns, problems and issues before they escalate. Women are both proactive and reactive problem solvers. Plus, they also have multi-dimensional skills. This is because women tend to be more versatile than men. In a growing global marketplace, diversity is a key ingredient to success.

Women also have strong communication skills and encourage collaborative work efforts. Men sometimes sit in silence, give brief directives or share competitive stories that do not necessarily add to a team-centered work atmosphere. Women listen and share ideas, while maintaining a high level of professionalism. They respond well to verbal, visual and emotional factors, resulting in healthy communication patterns. In addition to that, women add a feminine touch to their work environments, giving their organizations an advantage when it comes to accomplishing work goals and developing healthy workplace relationships. Women think with their minds and their hearts. Their sensitivity, intuition and emotional intelligence help to create a well-rounded workforce. Because women tend to see the big picture and don't usually get caught up in unhealthy forms of competition, team-centered goals have room to thrive. Most women don't try to be a "one-man show," so they often get along well with others, making them an advantageous in many ways.

There are many ways to address the balance between career and family in order to improve the organization’s human resource management. The most important thing is to take care of our health. Our health should always be our number one priority. If we are not in good shape physically, mentally, and emotionally, both our work life and your personal life will be affected. We should take care of ourselves by eating healthy meals especially breakfast, exercise at least three times per week and sleep a minimum of seven hours per night. While we may not think we have time to add exercise and extra sleep to our jam-packed schedule, these practices relieve stress, raise our energy level, increase our stamina, improve our mental clarity, boost our immune system, and make us a happier, more engaged, and more productive person. Additionally, refrain from the excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to relieve stress. These substances only tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause even more problems. There are many campaign have been made by the Royal Malaysian Police to avoid their officers and sub-ordinates to stop smoking and I can say it is successful.

Besides that, we really must leave work at work. We should never ever bring back the work at home. It is important to develop a mental on-off switch between work and home. It helps to differentiate two different activities between the two realms. This might consist of listening to music or recorded books during your evening commute, exercising at the fitness center, running errands, or keeping personal appointments. Scheduling such activities immediately following your normal work hours also prevents you from spending that extra twenty minutes at the office, which then turns into several hours. In Malaysia, it is common to see workers work overtime. Workers should use time more efficiently as it is an important skill that everyone can learn. Workers must adopt the right combination of time-management practices, which can cut stress and save you up to an hour a day. This can include the use of technology to become more organized, grouping emails and voice messages, avoiding procrastination and learning to say "no." it might be hard at first but when this culture being implemented widely, it will turn out easier.

Next, I agree that relationships with family, friends, and loved ones are, by far, the greatest source of inner satisfaction. I cannot deny that if our job or career is damaging our personal relationships, both areas will ultimately suffer. Sure there will be days when we will need to work overtime. The issue becomes problematic when these days become the rule, not the exception. By making our personal relationships a priority, our productivity and effectiveness on the job will actually increase. So that it would be better if we can set fair and realistic limits on what we will and will not do both at work and at home. I think we can clearly communicate these boundaries to our supervisor, coworkers, partner and family. For instance, we might commit to not working late on certain days unless there is a crisis. Additionally, we can set aside a time at home during which you will not check or respond to work-related emails or voice mails. It will be troublesome if we keep thinking about work at home. It is important to allocate some time for the workers to rest and relax their mind. Thus, both sides will benefit.

Therefore, workers should be able to balance between work and life because it will be best if our quality time with family is available despite of the heavy workloads that we must fulfill and do not forget to make up the most of free time because it will add some much needed variation and enjoyment into our life as workers. It is often good to give best out of the best but when it comes to our jobs, we should allocate right amount of time to our job, not to mention, allow ourselves to actually enjoy the time we are there in order to balance our life and work. It is everyone goal to be the best but our relationships and social life should never be sacrificed as a result. We should think people around us also need us and we have the right to be happy with them. As for women in workplace, I respect them beyond anything because I know their capabilities to overcome the difficulties in their workplaces. It is challenging yet I know there are strong enough to fight with it. With their strong minds and abilities, I think there should not be gender bias as both men and women are special on their own.