Job description (24/7 availability)

A positive, “can do” attitude; 24/7 availability; extremely high energy level and resourcefulness; ability to thrive in the face of demanding schedules and ambitious timelines; ability to lead and motivate are crucial to the success of this role.

The above are actual excerpts from a job advertisement that was posted in the Internet one day prior to the date of this blog posting. It is not a very high profile job so to speak; it caught my attention simply due to the 24/7 availability requirement and high expectation out from the this job.

It reminds me of a job interview that I had for the position of an engineering technical support assistant manager at a MNC Company in Singapore a few years ago. The guy who does the interview was a Chinese real stuck up and arrogant chap. I believed he was in his midst 40s, so that means most probably he is no older than me by 3 years at most. The pay was somewhat meager compare to the high expectation of the job requirement. I have neither problem nor concern with putting long hours into work to complete and meet critical timeline projects if necessary. After all I would consider myself a workaholic and have very demanding and expectation on the quality of my deliverables.
At the end of the interview I told the interviewer that the job does not suit me and that we should learn to work smarter and not harder. Computer systems can automate most of the day-to-day tasks and other complex operations if the systems are design carefully.
Putting the extra hours to complete a project is different from having a clause in your job description that stipulates round the clock twenty-four hours availability. Of course I do understand that some jobs requires personal sacrifice such as those related to services for instance medical workers, in particular medical doctors, church leaders such as pastors and many more. It is also common for entrepreneurs and business start-up owners to commit extra long hours to build their own businesses.

The round the clock service availability is usually self implied but not appropriate to be imprint in black and white for any job descriptions.

Having a clause in the JD of a secular job that stipulates a 24-hour availability is ridiculous in my opinion and those who sign up for a job with such nature has either never given a deep thought to the implication of it, no personal social life, desperately in need of money or perhaps enjoy being treated like a slave. It is simply not worthwhile to put all your time working for a company that you do not own; to be on stand-by round the clock so to speak;

Given a choice, wouldn’t it be better for you to commit if you have to; round the clock service and efforts to your own business startup rather than for another company? After all, if you succeed with your own business, you reap the maximum benefits and rewards. You may get rewarded with pay increase and bonus if the company you work for do well, you may get the sack or layoff if the company does not do well, regardless of how many hours you have invested and put into your work.

The choice is yours; the battle is yours.

Last but not least, attached is a snapshot of the newly renovated continental style kitchen of my co-own nice and cosy 3 storey house in JB, Malaysia.


Have a nice day.