Category Archives: Career and employment

We all criticise, even ourselves!

Career and employment

On 8 September, I invited my friends for coffee in my place after our usual Sunday afternoon walk. One of the things we discussed was how politicians always criticise quickly their opponents without providing alternatives. French Pres. Macron’s choice of Prime Minister attracted not only criticisms but also demonstrations. In last month’s US presidential debates, Harris and Trump traded blows. Harris was criticised for laughing too much; who didn’t? I did when Trump said, “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.” (Interesting read – Trump repeats baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating pets by Merlyn Thomas & Mike Wendling. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77l28myezko).

I should not have laughed because that false assertion can cause prejudice, victimisation, and division. Surely, the targeted people didn’t laugh.

When we hear the word “criticism”, we associate it with negativism. However, any dictionary describes “criticism” as an opinion or judgment about the good or bad qualities of someone, something, or an activity. Criticism isn’t only destructive. Constructive criticism provides useful feedback for improvement.

You don’t have to be a psychologist, philosopher, or any relevant pundit to know that when we criticise people negatively, we anger the latter and make them defensive.  They don’t change their behaviour to please us or respect us more; it’s more likely the contrary. How do we know that what we give or receive is constructive or destructive criticism?  When we’re criticised in a manner meant to belittle or hurt us, it’s the latter. In this situation, we should stay calm, breathe deeply, and pause before responding with factual words in a polite tone. Some people are stuck in a rut, reflecting more about themselves and their beliefs than those they criticise.

We all experience criticising and being criticised. Hence, how/whatever we do, we’re likely to be criticised. We even criticise ourselves openly and in our minds. How many times have we said to ourselves, “If only …”, “It’s my fault …”, “I should have …”, etc. 

 “Criticism is something you can easily avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” ~Aristotle

Whereas, constructive criticism should be everyone’s business. If we want to provide positive criticism or feedback, it has to be with good intentions and supported by specific examples delivered in a friendly manner. This might include having a respectful formal or informal discussion or brainstorming session to find out ways for the person to improve.

Examples of constructive criticism:

  • Your PowerPoint presentation had a lot of useful information, but adding more colourful visual examples will make it more mesmerising.

Rather than “Your PowerPoint presentation was dull” (or boring).

  • Your report has some strong arguments, but it can be improved by changing passive sentences into active ones.

            Rather than “Your report is poorly written”.

  • I have noticed that you sent the email later than agreed. Can we discuss any challenges you’ve been facing and ways to manage better our deadlines?”

            Rather than “You’re always late; you missed the deadline again”.

We ought to be prudent when using “always”. When we hear “always,” we may feel criticised negatively regularly, making us defensive rather than receptive to feedback.

To communicate or converse more effectively, it’s better to use specific, factual language that acknowledges strengths and areas for improvement (i.e. constructive and productive approach).

Shall we carry on with Labour Day?

Employment, Societal Issues, Values and Principles


Today, known as “International Workers’ Day” or May Day”, is dedicated to workers’ achievements; it’s a public holiday in many countries, e.g. Australia and France. In the USA, Labour Day is on the first Monday of September. Demonstrations and campaigns for workers’ rights are part of the celebration.


In the 1980s-90s, in Australia, I participated in the annual Labour Day march in Brisbane. It wasn’t only the time for me to rest from my paid job but to show solidarity and appreciate the significant contributions of workers and the labour movement in improving working conditions. I can’t remember someone questioning me about its relevance or the media’s scrutiny of it being a public holiday. Lately, there have been remarks that it is just another excuse to stay home. How many organisations and individuals use this day to recognise and honour the labour movement’s contributions to securing workers’ rights, fair wages, and safe working conditions?


Have working conditions improved since its birth in 1886? It depends on where you are. Then, there’s the industry. “Technology is moving faster than companies can design and scale up their training programmes”, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (weforum.org) discloses. According to this report, AI is a crucial employment disrupter; other factors include the green transition and geo-economic conditions.


​Generative AI will increase productivity and innovation in high-income countries​. In contrast, developing countries will continue to lag and experience increased unemployment. Demanded know-how will become even more critical​; hence, will there be equitable resourcing for skills development? It’s the old story again—the rich have the means to better themselves. Will Labour Day observances and marches impact the workplace undergoing employment shuffles due to technological changes?


​How attractive and useful are labour​ unions​ in our current digitalised world? Are their tactics and demands ​reasonable and justified? ​If we had to change ​”Labour Day​” to reflect our modern day, what would that be?​ (Labour force includes the employed and unemployed people who are working or willing to work​, while workforce consists of ​individuals who are engaged in some work and excludes those who are eager to work but ​can’t find ​or get work​).


Labour Day is a reminder of the ongoing struggles for social and economic justice — wherever you are and in whatever industry you’re in (high-tech or no tech)!

AI and Me

Career and employment, language, personal and social development, Societal Issues, Values and Principles

Last week, while fine-tuning my manuscript for publication, doubts clouded my mind. There has been a flood of articles and buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) ChatGPT, including its use for writing and content development. Is there a need for a “Clear and Concise Writing” book? Did I waste my time drafting this? Shall I spend more time getting it published?


The use of AI has advantages and flaws. It can save time and money, reduce errors and increase accuracy, hide one’s lack of competence, and enthuse laziness.


AI “ChatGPT does not have the ability to search the internet for information and rather, uses the information it learned from training data to generate a response, which leaves room for error”. – Ortiz, 2022 (https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-chatgpt-and-why-does-it-matter-heres-what-you-need-to-know/).


“As a language model, ChatGPT is not a traditional source that would typically be included in a bibliography. Instead, you can acknowledge the use of the model in the text and a note or a disclaimer. For example, you can add a statement like “This document was generated with the help of ChatGPT, a large language model developed by OpenAI. It’s important to note that ChatGPT is a tool, it does not conduct original research, it only provides the information it was trained on, and it’s not an author”. – ChatGPT by OpenAI accessed on 20/01/2023.


Out of curiosity, I logged in on 22/01/23. This is what it gave me: “Write an acrostic poem about the status of ChatGPT.
C: ChatGPT is currently down
H: Huge demand has caused the site to crash
A: All users will have to wait
T: Time is needed for the servers to catch up
G: Go grab a coffee and check back soon
P: Patience is key in this situation
T: Trust that the team is working hard to fix it up”.


English physicist Stephen William Hawking (1942-2018), famous for his theories on relativity and quantum mechanics, had said: “The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” (Cellan-Jones, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540. Seen on 23/01/23).

Two days ago, I received an email from one of my students that included these encouraging words: “I’ve been thinking about the question you raised earlier about whether you should publish the book or not. I hope you will, and human beings will always do. You (human authors in general) write books, and AI generates them. I don’t care how good an AI-generated book may/will be one day. I like knowing that there’s someone feeling something while writing the book that makes me feel something when reading it”.


I have subtitled my book “Self-confidence and not software -dependence”.

Quiet quitting and quiet firing aren’t the solutions

Career and employment, Employment, Societal Issues

“I call it a day; see you tomorrow”.
“It’s only 5:30, Paul. Aren’t you waiting for a phone call from Ms Willers”?
“She said at five; it’s 5:30.”
In a soft voice, Rosie asked, “Are you a quiet quitter, Paul”?


Quiet quitting is one of the 2022 buzz phrases that have varied meanings. It can refer to doing what you are only paid for (i.e. what is stated in your job description) and not “going and beyond” in favour of work-life balance. It can include losing motivation due to work dissatisfaction. It can be a minimum performance as there’s no ambition for career advancement. It can be a strategy to get retrenched and be eligible for unemployment benefits. (In France, those who resign can only receive unemployment payments if the official employment committee approves their substantive career change plan).


Quiet quitting has attracted supporters from the proponents of better work-life balance, principally citing the prevention of burnout and mental illness. However, it can have adverse effects. It can cause disengagement and loss of pride in what you do. It can create a negative work atmosphere; imagine having colleagues who work less for the same salary as yours. Then, there’ll be a domino effect – others will practise quiet quitting too. Consequently, there’ll be less productivity, less clientele, less job, more competition, more pressure, and so on. There are occupations, such as in the medical field, when quiet quitting doesn’t work at all.


You can emotionally invest at work without sacrificing your personal life by maintaining healthy boundaries between them. There’s no need for quiet quitting. There must be open communication between company management and employees. Listening to the personnel’s views and opinions, regardless of their position in the organisation, is inclusion and respect, leading to a feeling of belongingness, loyalty, and productivity.


The opposite of quiet quitting is quiet firing. Quiet firing is when a management fashions work conditions that cause an employee to resign. These include non-invitation to staff meetings and functions, deprivation of promotion and salary increase, overloading with urgent work, and non-allocation of tasks. This is a non-confrontational approach to force employees to leave the company without disbursing severance pay. Like quiet quitting, it has its downsides; it builds a toxic work environment.


Our triumph should not be someone’s defeat or misery. However difficult the situation is, the best result is always obtained with the least conflict. Thus, we should go for a “win-win” rather than a “winner takes it all” mentality.


By the way, as promised in my previous blog, here are the things I have already prepared as Christmas presents — books, a hand-written and framed short story, and a photo album. Food hampers and fruit baskets are also on my list.

Vanity or career necessity?

Career and employment, personal and social development, Societal Issues,

Last month, during my Skype lesson, I noticed my student looked prettier than previously.

“You have got sparkling eyes; what’s the good news?”

She giggled and lowered her voice. “I don’t know the word in English; in French, it’s ‘rehaussement de cils’. With this, I don’t need a mascara; when I do, it takes only a second, unlike before”.

After researching on this “rehaussement de cils” (eyelash enhancement), I wanted to do mine too. The eyes are a focal point of anyone’s face. Women with long eyelashes and large eyes are often considered to be beautiful. Was I vane to wish for full and long lashes that would give me a youthful and healthy look without mascara or eyelash extensions?

I was only a few steps away from our local beautician to make an appointment when I turned around. Walking back home, I bumped into my Irish friend. I told her that I had intended to have an eyelash enhancement but didn’t have the guts to do it. Smiling, almost laughing, she said: “You don’t need it; you look much younger than your age.” *

Whether my Irish pal was being nice to me or telling the truth was not the point. Has the rampant use of online platforms for work meetings and seminars since the pandemic led to an increase in cosmetic procedures? Is this vanity or a way to improve self-esteem, confidence and image?

“I had Botox injection because I had enough of seeing my Zoom-fatigue face”, an acquaintance confided in me.  Could she have done something else aside from resorting to this minor cosmetic procedure?

Minor cosmetic operators can be registered and unregistered providers and their costs can be more than one thousand euros per session. The procedure must be repeated, ending up as a permanent feature of one’s budget. How many people can afford this? Those who have money to do it should choose someone or a company registered with their local health or professional regulatory agency.

As well, they should discuss it with their doctor, who might be able to recommend a cosmetic practitioner. Even though they are only thinking of a minor cosmetic procedure (e.g. fillers, neurotoxins and the use of laser and energy devices), there are still possible side effects, such as infection, pain, bruising, dryness and stiffness.

The most popular forms of cosmetic surgery for men are rhinoplasty (nose) and blepharoplasty (eyelid); women’s top three are breast augmentation, liposuction and eyelift.

There are abundant online reports on poorly or incorrectly administered cosmetic procedures that resulted in lifetime scaring and long-term rashes.  So, when you look at your wrinkled or drooping eyelids in the mirror or on Zoom, Teams or Webex, weigh the pros and cons.

The skills, attitudes and behaviours of any teacher, supervisor, colleague, or service provider are more important than physical attributes; therefore, these should be harnessed first. Looking professional and presentable is a sign of respect for your students, colleagues, and collaborators. However, isn’t it a mistake to have a cosmetic procedure only to please others or attain career success?

 “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” ― Coco Chanel (1883-1971, French fashion designer, businesswoman and founder of the Chanel brand).

*Why do we want to appear younger than our biological age? Age is only a number, and it is the quality of our daily experience that matters.

What’s behind a name?

Career and employment, language, Societal Issues, society,

I facilitate an English roundtable in Luxembourg every Friday, and we discuss professional, social and personal-interest topics. Last month, it was about names; one of the participants mentioned a girl initially called Nutella, a popular hazelnut chocolate spread. I checked it out and came across a Guardian’s article about a couple from Valenciennes in northern France who registered their daughter Nutella ( https://www.theguardian .com/world/2015/jan/26/french-couple-name-girl-nutella seen on 04/052021). The registrar alerted the local prosecutor, who referred the case to a family court judge. The court ruled that Nutella is a commercial brand and such a name was against the girl’s interests as it would cause “mockery or disobliging remarks”. The couple had to rename her Ella, which means a pleasant young woman.

According to Ms Catharine Smith (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/baby-named-facebook-egypt_n_825934 seen 04/05/21), an Egyptian father, Jamal Ibrahim, named his daughter “Facebook” to honour the social media site’s role in Egypt’s revolution. Ms Smith quoted this from TechCrunch newspaper: “A young man in his twenties wanted to express his gratitude about the victories the youth of 25th of January have achieved and chose to express it in the form of naming his firstborn girl “Facebook”. 

In Marcio’s Italian family, all the children’s names start with the letter M.  According to Marie-Pierre, her name’s male version is Pierre-Marie. The Arabic name Shadi means happiness. Do names reflect an individual’s personality? There are studies that show names make a difference in professional, social and financial standing.

My late uncle was Silverio Carangan, Sr. My cousins’ legal names are Silverio Carangan 1st, Silverio Carangan 2nd, and Silverio Caranagan 3rd; to everyone, they’re Ono, Dos, Tres.  I was already eight months pregnant, and my hubby and I couldn’t agree on a name for our firstborn. We decided to play chess; I won two out of three games and had the privilege of naming him Sidney, which is easy to pronounce in almost all languages.

My late parents, Roberto and Adela, named their first daughter Rodela; from this, they came up with four other names by rearranging the letters, and mine was one of them. If you know of another person with the same name as mine, please notify me. So far, the closest is Rolande and Rolanda, which are both of Latin origin and mean “known in the land”. My French acquaintances call me “Rolad” (/ruːˈlɑːd), as the last vowel is not pronounced in the French language. They also have a dish roulade (/ruːˈlɑːd) de boeuf“, which is a filled rolled meat.

S.J. Velasquez’s 2018 write-up spoke about nominative determinism, a theory that people are drawn to jobs matching their names, e.g. Baker for a pastry chef and Dennis or Denise for dentists (https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180404-do-our-names-push-us-toward-certain-jobs). Two weeks ago, I grinned watching the French television station TF1’s interview of a restaurateur Didier Desert (“Desert” is pronounced by English speakers as ‘dɪˈzəːt’ (dessert – a sweet course eaten at the end of the main meal, e.g. cheesecake or chocolate mousse).

If you had a funny, weird or embarrassing name, would you change it? If your family name was Head, would you keep your first name Dick knowing that dickhead means a stupid or ridiculous man? You are probably one of those who would go through all the legal fuss to do so.  Many people, however, never change their names. Are there names that employers find, either subconsciously or sentimentally, attractive or ugly?

Ms Stéphanie Thomson’s article revealed the Canadian Ryerson University and University of Toronto’s finding that people with Chinese, Indian or Pakistani-sounding names were 28% less likely to get job interviews than the fictitious candidates with English-sounding names, even when they had the same qualifications (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/job-applications-resume-cv-name-descrimination/). Ms Thomson also mentioned a French government’s conclusion that employers were less likely to interview candidates with North African-sounding names. Likewise, in the UK, “an all-parliamentary group study from 2012 found that women who ‘whitened’ their names or made them sound more British had to send only half as many applications before being invited to interview as those who sounded foreign”, she wrote. 

Has our society progressed in terms of addressing bias and discrimination associated with names? Have you had a good or bad experience because of your name? What’s behind your name?

Training and Learning at Home

Career and employment, language, personal and social development, Societal Issues

“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” – B.B. King (1925-2015, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer).

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented teleworking, including banks that used to disallow this for security reasons. In-person staff development training programme came to a halt for a while, then picked up virtually.

Staff development training is still arguably necessary in today’s world because competitiveness and changes are our society’s norms. Therefore, employers should continue providing this even during a lockdown or when their employees work from home. Governments in developed nations subsidise and consider such expense tax-deductible, which is an additional enticement. Though online training may not be cheaper as companies expect and more manageable as learners or participants like it to be, it is worthwhile.

Online training requires at least as much effort and time, and sometimes even more. Trainers need to buy or update their equipment, adjust their practices and style, and deal with disturbances from students’ family situations and technological hiccups. I have heard stories of participants cooking, texting, and feeding cats while on language training. It’s not the moment to multitask! I must admit that I cut my nails and did aerobics during boring webinars that did not allow participants to ask questions (guilty as charged!).

Virtual training can mirror only some face-to-face interactions (i.e. trainers going around the classroom and having water cooler conversation during breaks are impossible to reproduce).

How can teleworkers make the most of their online staff development training? My answer is WALPAH:

W –     Working technology – A (hu) “man is only as good as his tools” is especially true when you are training online: high-speed internet connection, a computer or modern laptop, camera, microphone headset, mouse, etc. (Do you say “I’ve two mouses or two mice? I.T. specialists seem to prefer the former, but the latter is correct, even if this sounds like you’ve pets instead of handheld devices on a flat surface in front of your computer).

A –      Avoid absences and late attendance (However, better late than never).

L –      Learning space should be quiet and tidy.

P –      Participate – ask questions and make comments to the trainer and other participants.

A –      Adapt your learning style – take notes, listen to everyone, read shared messages, and discuss personal views.

H –     Have fun – smile, share appropriate jokes and anecdotes.

How about trainers’ best practice? (I couldn’t come up with an acronym; perhaps you can help me with this).

1. Know and prepare your technology – Ensure a stable Internet connection, clean monitor, working camera and microphone, and mobile and laptop ready on the side in case the main computer fails.

2. Conduct the training in a quiet, disturbance-free and professional-looking environment.

3. Choose a platform that allows for interactivity – Use whiteboard annotations, chat and breakout groups (dividing learners into small groups of two or three).

4. Start the training by welcoming the participants, then providing them with a clear understanding of the session’s scope and content.

5. Meaningful experience – Call participants by their names. When the training is finished, encourage them to share contact information and continue improving their knowledge and skills.

Involve everyone throughout the training by prompting them to ask questions and share anecdotes and knowledge related to the activity.

6. Stick to the schedule – Your participants are professionals who have work and family commitments; therefore, start and end the session on time.

“For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790, stateman – helped draft the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution)

Succeeding in a multidisciplinary workplace

Career and employment, Societal Issues,

My Aussie relative, a business and marketing professional by training and experience, asked recently my significant other how he could succeed in his new job working with engineers. As an engineer, he answered: “Those who have chosen technical studies/professions are more project/object-oriented than those who work in the arts/humanities/social/business fields. Often, but not always, technical people are not at ease communicating, are more or less introverted, and do not like human interaction too much. But, one should not generalise”. He advised him to “get quickly to speed on technical knowledge because “E/engineers” do not like to waste their time with those who are unfamiliar with what they do.

Is it true that engineers are experts in their field of interest, and that’s it? Articles on this subject agree with my significant other. They are good critical thinkers but often lack communication and interpersonal skills, which are generally possessed by those in the social sciences. It’s not their fault; it can be attributed to the lack of importance given to these soft skills during their engineering education. So, what will you do if you belong to the humanities/social science domain and have to work with those in the other group or vice versa?

Does the stereotyping of professions help?

Stereotyping is a cognitive process that involves associating a character trait with a group of individuals. It is about making sense of the insufficient knowledge we have about people based on what we have read, heard or seen.  For instance, artists are free-spirited, intelligent, passionate, and un-pragmatic. Bankers are super rich and do not like paying taxes. Businesspeople are charismatic but ruthless when it comes to sales and profit. Public servants are cool because of their job security. Programmers and IT personnel wear eyeglasses and are poorly dressed.  Scientists are like Albert Einstein; they are brilliant but lack social and practical skills.

Personality experts and psychologists tell us that we use stereotypes to deal with situations without much thinking and to fit our social world, such as when we meet or work with a new person. Not all stereotypes are harmful, but they are always an incomplete picture of reality. Therefore, it should be taken with a grain of salt. (The same as “a pinch of salt” – accepting it with scepticism about its truth).

When you regard colleagues solely by the stereotype attached to their professions, you defraud them of other aspects of their individuality. Whatever profession you have and that of your workmates, what is needed is to supplant stereotype with a sense of conscientiousness. Psychology Today has this to say about conscientiousness: “comprises self-control, industriousness, responsibility, and reliability. A conscientious person is good at self-regulation and impulse control. This trait influences whether you will set and keep long-range goals, deliberate over choices, behave cautiously or impulsively, and take obligations to others seriously”. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/conscientiousness seen on 28/02/21). The article further says that consciousness is not only an essential ingredient for success in the workplace, but it is also a significant predictor of health, well-being, and longevity.

Conscientiousness, however, is just one part of our overall personality. Irrespective of our occupation, we should have a positive attitude, self-confidence, humility, and self-awareness (knowing our strengths and weaknesses). 

Passion and hobby aren’t the same but both spice life and employment

Career and employment, personal and social development, Societal Issues, ,

Being paid for doing something that you enjoy is one of the most satisfying experiences.  However, not all jobs offer this opportunity and many people earn a living from performing tasks they are not over the moon with.

Passion often comes up when it comes to job happiness and fulfilment. Being passionate at work enhances the pursuit of excellence and increases commitment and performance. Passion can either flourish, diminish or disappear when put in certain work environments. Employers and companies that provide conducive work milieu and implement management practices that respect, motivate and reward fairly unlock employees’ passion for performing well.

Since not everyone has a passion for their profession, pursuing it outside work can also improve one’s job satisfaction and well-being. Passions are not precisely the same as with hobbies. Passion is doing something you enjoy and have an overwhelming feeling of devotion even when it is difficult and stressful, but the result is worth the effort. Whereas, a hobby is something you do when you have free time, are feeling bored, or want to relax. 

Engaging in activities with passion or having a hobby can reduce stress, provide opportunities to socialise, improve skill and confidence, and increase the level of alertness and creativity. As we have to juggle home, work and passion or hobby, we multi-task; therefore, we become skilled in organising priorities. In the process, we also develop our analytical and decision-making ability.

Passion plus hard work goes farther than natural talent. My passion is storytelling in the written form.  During the COVID-19 lockdown, I finished my novel “The Whisper of Regrets”, which explores real societal and relationship issues and is written in plain English. I have an inconsiderably slim chance of winning this August’s Amazon story competition, but as Alfred Lord Tennyson had said, “It’s better to have tried and failed than to live life wondering what would’ve happened if I had tried.” A little help goes a long way; so, I hope you’ll check it out.

Whereas, my acquaintance and fellow chess player (Said), who has postgraduate degrees in physics and engineering and works in these domains, has become a pundit on plants in Kabylia, Algeria. Likewise, my Aussie friend Loida spends nights and days drawing, painting, and taking panoramic photographs with joy and patience.

It is idealistic to say “have a passion” or “follow your passion”. The truth is that those who have a passion to follow are not numerous. Some people do not wish to have one because they have witnessed passionate people sacrificing their time and money to keep doing it with little or no visible short-term return. I believe it is easier to have a hobby than forced yourself to have a passion. Of course, a hobby can turn into a passion.

According to Good.CoTeam (https://good.co/blog/top-hobbies-boost-employability-skills/seen on 01/08/20), the top 8 hobbies that boost employability are 1. Endurance sports, e.g. running and swimming; 2. High-risk pursuits, e.g. mountain climbing and sky diving; 3. Creative hobbies tasks, e. g. cooking and photography; 4.Team sports, e.g. football and softball; 5. Strategic mind games, e.g. chess and Sudoku; 6. Creative writing, e.g. poetry, short stories or a personal blog; 7. Reading, museums, libraries; and 8. Community group involvement. These hobbies suggest that you are comfortable collaborating with others. As well, you could be seen as a particularly good personality fit for managerial roles. The caveat is that fabricating an interest in certain activities backfires. For instance, you have written ‘playing foosball’ as a hobby in your resume; when asked to join a team to compete in an inter-company tournament, you refused because you could hardly hit the ball.

It is worthwhile to discover, rediscover or harness our passion and hobby to live and work satisfyingly. These are some of the hobbies that do not cost money: aerobics or fitness exercise at home, bird watching, gardening (for yourself, neighbours and community), reading, running, stargazing, volunteering, walking, watching documentaries, and writing. 

Meanwhile, the world’s unemployment rate is alarming. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on 09/06/2020 that the number of unemployed people in the OECD countries alone increased by 18.4 million to 55 million last April (https://www.oecd.org /newsroom/ unemployment-rates-oecd-update-june-2020.htm).  Moreover, to feed and shelter their families, millions of women and men have accepted jobs they are overqualified to do or in workplaces where they are undervalued. The passion for their career has long evaporated into thin air due to circumstances beyond their control. Also, some have their passions and hobbies constrained by time, as they have to look for work, do shifts, or take care of their children and elderly family members.

Passion can be an act of kindness; hobby can be skyping, zooming, facetiming, whatsapping or telephoning friends and relatives who live alone.