1/2 “I also encountered a lot of difficult people, not just because of differences in race but also age.”
(1/2) “Never in my life have I thought of working in the education sector because all this while I was in the corporate world.
I started my career at an events organizing company. While at one of the company’s Dubai exhibitions, I was offered a job in the US as a project lead for gadget insurance. I immediately accepted the job and was happily on my way to Atlanta, US.
In the first 3 months, I felt the stark difference in the work culture there, because as Asians, we usually work overtime, but over there they’re already off from work by 5.45pm. Their culture is very family-oriented. My colleagues frequently ask me “Jason, you’re not going back home yet?”. But the thing is, it’s not like I had a family to go back to at the time, they were all in Malaysia.
Thankfully, I didn’t experience a lot of discrimination when I was working because I was recruited at a manager level and there’s a lot of different nationalities that work in my company especially Indians and Japanese. Plus, Atlanta is generally a very accepting place compared to other American states and I’m quite a friendly person. But there were still times when you feel like an outsider – that you’re Asian and don’t belong.
I also encountered a lot of difficult people, not just because of differences in race but also age. There’s a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication. So, I really had to figure out how to manage these kinds of things.
Those 5 years in the US gave me a lot of experience and knowledge because the mindset, culture, how they train and live is totally different. Since they prioritize work-family balance, I didn’t even see some employees in the office except for maybe twice a year! But even then, they still deliver the work on time. They have systems there to inform where people are located but to handle 300 people is not easy. I realised there are a few systems I must set like a deadline for my employees.
Life in the US was good, especially in terms of money and job prospects but I never planned on staying there forever. That never even crossed my mind.”
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Humans of KL is working with academics from Taylor’s College to share stories which embody their values; Hope, Grit and Slay.
