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Work and life issue!

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  1. #11

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by carang:
    i came here right out of uni when i was 22. in my first year in asia, i experienced so much but found that when i went "home" my friends seemed like they were sitting on the same barstool, drinking the same pint having the exact same conversation they'd been having when i left. i was interested in talking about new and different things, and they were interested for all of 30 seconds, then it was right back to who was going to win the game that night.

    don't despair, you are just socialising with the wrong group of people. maybe time to find a new job and some new friends.

    good luck!
    thanks for your interesting experience. yes, meeting dif people to talk different things is just fun but i think i may not give up my first job in hk easily!! thanks!

  2. #12

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    Jul 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkelephant:
    i don't agree.
    the OP isn't coming across like a snob who went out of Hk for a while and has returned with an attitude problem.

    travel does broaden ones mind and sometimesyou can't relate to the same things that you used to in the past.

    she has grown up a little bit
    I think I have chosen the way I want to develop, and selective learning from this city...

  3. #13

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    Jul 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by xxxquen:
    I think I have chosen the way I want to develop, and selective learning from this city...
    But I have a question as I sometimes doubt the usefulness of thinking from different angles/bigger picture. Say some of my friends are working for big4 but it doesnt seem such way of things may be needed. Or in another case in a EMEA project (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), a team of 5 but 5 nationalities, everyone held their viewpoints and not giving in. so delaying results and inefficiency due to personal matters instead of the task... And sometimes you may complicate your thinking...

    Wonder if this is just a personal development choice?

  4. #14

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    Mar 2007
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    That's actually really interesting observation and one really worth debating. Do you think project was really Disadvantaged by this or can you see thatperhaps the answer (whatever it was) turned out to be richer because all the different perspectives?
    Sometimes I agree personalities can get in the way of progress - butoften listening to different perspectives givesyou insigbtyou might not have achieved. Doesn't mean this is easy though and a project with multiple nationalities requires more careful management than where everyone think the same way. Seek to find benefits.- don't focus on the difficulties!
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  5. #15

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    Jan 2009
    Location
    Kowloon
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    144

    'Frog in the well' isn't it.

    And I think people's nationalistic/culture 'pride' gets in the way alot of the time.

    Had a conversation with my local colleagues about inflation the other day, I said HK is getting pricey, they all rebutted "well UK is more expensive", funny how none of them had lived in the UK, 3 of them only been to London for 2 weeks only.....

    Hilarious!

    Yes some things in the UK is expensive compared to here, but I wouldn't call HK 'cheap' anymore coz $30 now can only 'just' pay for my 'cha chan ten' lunch, next year... $30 may not even cut it.

    Let's not forget the hidden charges tactics in HK... 'service charge', want a hot drink '$2', want a cold drink '$4' etc etc. Prices in the UK are far more transparent.


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
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    i think you are over-analysing although it is not a bad thing, just try not to jump to a conclusion when there probably is a more general explanation for what you are experiencing.

    i think it is more about adaptation than trying to force the issue. HK people have their own traditions and prejudices and i must say, when i first came here, i thought some of them were a bit silly. but you cannot go to a country and expect everyone to change for you.

    As some people have mentioned, you are getting down because a group of your local work colleagues don't understand your thinking, so the best way is to find a group of people who do share your perspective.

    and to put things on the other foot. When you were working in Australia, USA or Belgium, did you enjoy all their customs and lifestyle? Or were there times when you just thought what they did was silly, immature and inefficient? Do you think they really had an international way of thinking or was it just local to them, but felt international to you because you are from hk?

    In the end, i agree with the posters who said you should find a group of people who share your views. I have also worked with HK people, British, Americans and they all have their own characteristics that annoy the hell out of me.


  7. #17

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    7,441
    Quote Originally Posted by xxxquen:
    But I have a question as I sometimes doubt the usefulness of thinking from different angles/bigger picture. Say some of my friends are working for big4 but it doesnt seem such way of things may be needed. Or in another case in a EMEA project (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), a team of 5 but 5 nationalities, everyone held their viewpoints and not giving in. so delaying results and inefficiency due to personal matters instead of the task... And sometimes you may complicate your thinking...

    Wonder if this is just a personal development choice?
    Not sure who was managing this project but clearly in this example was a major issue, not because of personal differences. You will always get differences, people wanting to lead, others wanting to show superiority etc.

  8. #18

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    Jul 2010
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    Thanks everyone analyzing from dif angles for this young man!