Commitment

Commitment... ah... such a big word.

Over the past few weeks, I have been hit left right centre with this word in every aspect - work commitment, personal commitment, relationship commitment, family commitment...

Let's start with work commitment. In all my years of work experience, NEVER have I seen such appalling behaviour by an employee in a managerial capacity. Yes, I'm referring to my Malaysian employee who was hired as a Sales and Operations Manager, and she simply tendered her resignation via sms after disappearing on a 3-day MC. Missed her appointment with the management to officially submit her letter of resignation and do a handover, and sent her dear husband to submit her resignation letter in the end. Not only is there a lack of commitment in her work, there is such severe lack of professionalism and work principles that it's shocking. The sad truth is, to find an employee who is truly committed in his/her work is rare these days.

Relationship commitment. I have so many guy friends who are simply commitment phobes. My ex is one such guy. They love the convenience of a hot date, mindboggling sex and good company but when it comes to the word 'commitment' or 'relationship', they freeze and play dodge ball. And mind you, they are not young boys who are still checking out the scene but they are men in their 30s. I have this flamboyant male friend who charms most women and has most women at his beck and call, but when it comes to commitment, it's a blank for him and he just does the avoidance waltz each time he's confronted with a commitment question. And he did just that to me when I posed a commitment question to him. Ha.

Family commitment. Family commitment, especially commitment to ageing parents is something that all of us have. Commitment to take care of our parents, immediate family is so ingrained in our Asian culture that it's unthinkable otherwise. For those with family business, myself included, this family commitment gets extended to the professional realm where the lines between work and family can potentially blur. Not good, I think, unless the parties involved in the family business can distinguish and draw a line between work and family.

At the end of the day, no one can run away from this word. Commitment is required somewhere somehow in many aspects of our lives. It's just how we want to deal with it and how much we want to deal with it. Selective commitment perhaps...