During my national service, I was assigned to the manpower branch. The manpower officer headed the branch and his deputy was the chief clerk. The branch had two sections. One dealt with active personnel while another dealt with NSmen (reservist). As the chief clerk only handled active personnel’s matters, reservist matters were overseen by the NSmen-in-charge. Although the chief clerk’s position was higher than the NSmen-in charge, the NSmen-in-charge reports directly to the manpower officer.
Working in the NSmen section, we would be extremely busy during the period of in-camp-training. To reward our hard work, the NSmen-in-charge would give us a day off after the in-camp-training period. The “day off” form had to be signed by the chief clerk as the recommending officer and the manpower officer as the approving officer. However, the chief clerk would always pass sarcastic remarks when I asked for her signature and sometimes even refused to sign. Understanding my difficulty, the NSmen-in-charge helped me sign as the recommending officer before I approached the manpower officer for his signature.
When this incident came to the knowledge of the chief clerk, she summoned me before her. She said: “The approving officer is the chief clerk not the NSmen-in-charge. When the manpower officer asks me for your whereabouts, what am I going to say? If this happens again, I am going to give you extra duties.”
If you were me, what would you do the next time when such a situation occurs?
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Hi Chin Min
ReplyDeleteI think the chief clerk was at a loss of words because she could not probably disadvantage herself by saying that she had been difficult each time you went to her. If I were you, I would probably get the help of the NSmen-in-charge to speak to the manpower officer, whom the NSmen-in-charge reports directly to, about the chief clerk's attitude and her threats. Afterall, I have the right to get a day-off.
This post gave sufficient background of the characters and the issue involved. However, I believe that in the second sentence of the second-last paragraph, "the approving officer" is actually "the recommending officer"? Well-explained, otherwise :)
Hello Chin Min, it seems like your chief clerk is just being unreasonable. If I were you, after being summoned by her, I would have to request for her signature the next time I want a day off. If she refuses to, I would try to persuade her or go to an officer of a higher rank for help. The post was detailed, but for someone unfamiliar with the army terms,like myself, it can get a little confusing. Nevertheless, it was a good post. =)
ReplyDeleteSok Huang, thank you for pointing out the mistake. The sentence should read "The recommending officer is the chief clerk not the NSmen-in-charge".
ReplyDeleteActually, I overcame this problem by informing the manpower officer directly first (but did not ask him to sign first). With his verbal approval, the chief clerk cannot use the excuse that the manpower officer does not know about my whereabouts. I also considered that this action maybe interpreted as bypassing her and undermining her authority. Thus, coupled with the above mentioned strategy, I also tried to improve my relationship with the chief clerk by talking to her frequently during break and lunch time, to avoid being labeled as not in her clique.
Hi Chin Min, for most guys who went through the NS, I think this scenario is not uncommon at all. It seems that office politics often target us as scapegoats as we are just "temporary staffs" which will soon leave the place often in a year or less.
ReplyDeleteIn your case, I guess the NSmen-in-charge and the chief clerk are not really friendly with each other. If the same situation occurs whereby the chief clerk refused to sign your form, I guess you would have to talk to your NSmen-in-charge about her attitude. At the same time, inform the manpower office personally about your whereabouts whenever he is going to sign your form and drop him an email and cc to the chief clerk so that she would not have an excuse to deal with you. If possible gather support from your office colleagues, as they probably faced similar problem as well. After all, as Sok Huang had mentioned earlier, you deserved the reward.