MAS for Mid Career Professionals

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The bottomline is that MAS doesnt pay well vis a vis the industry or even the rest of government. I don't think senior management appreciated the severity enough. Otherwise they would not be telling staff about "gratitude".

A number of my friends in MAS are just waiting for their next bonus/promotion before departure. Do be careful about providing feedback upwards. Some have already left as upwards feedback were met with reprisals/contained.

MAS is not paying competitively. Many have gone to private sector with pay raise of at least 30%.

MD already say look at other things for satisfaction instead of money. Like the satisfaction of working for MAS and serving the public. Its like being a commando. You don't do it for the money. You do it for the Honour & Glory!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

MD already say look at other things for satisfaction instead of money. Like the satisfaction of working for MAS and serving the public. Its like being a commando. You don't do it for the money. You do it for the Honour & Glory!

cant be chasing after private sector when they are public sector

Originally Posted by Unregistered

MD already say look at other things for satisfaction instead of money. Like the satisfaction of working for MAS and serving the public. Its like being a commando. You don't do it for the money. You do it for the Honour & Glory!

I really want to serve the public and be proud of what I am doing.

Unlike many others here, salary is not a big issue for me.

But everyday, my morale gets drained.

I want to get things done, but in front of me, there are 99 layers to clear. These are simple things. I do not need so many layers. These extra layers do not value-add at all, and I say this without mincing my words.

The process is a disaster. Bosses here have become so risk-averse, asking tons of immaterial questions. It has made life a nightmare for officers who want to get things done. Some things are simply unknowable until we try. Yet the bosses insist they have to be known before we even try. Can anyone see how ridiculous this it? Many of my colleagues just accept it and smoke their way through. But I want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, doing the right thing here is very hard here. People only hear what they want to hear. Taking the path of least resistance is the easiest thing to do, but it is often the wrong one. But hey, why try so hard right?

I work in a regulatory department. When I liaise with foreign counterparts, I find their thinking to be a lot more mature. They are able to evaluate situations holistically. They also have a lot more trust in their colleagues. This is unlike here. My bosses are so focused on narrow points that they miss the bigger picture. They have trouble accepting that what we currently have is in not ideal compared to foreign jurisdictions, so they force themselves to justify it. They are so afraid of explaining our regulations that our most common suggestion is for the other party to seek legal advice. They have so little trust in others that they even want to get involved in areas where there are already plenty of experts sitting in.

With each passing day, I find my desire to do the right thing dissipating. Unfortunately, this has been difficult for me. I cannot live with contradictions, but my colleagues don't have this problem at all. They have absolutely no qualms providing suggestions that are half-baked and will only lead to greater problems down the road. Every time I do this, I find my soul shedding a tear.

My colleagues are very friendly and nice people to talk to. But I cannot understand why MAS works in such a bad way. Is it unique to MAS? Is it to unique to the Public Service? Is it unique to Singapore culture? I really don't know. The same colleagues tell me not to feel bad about it. If anything screws up, it is on MAS, not me. That is true, and perhaps necessary to convince myself to take the path of least resistance.

Alas, I hope for sunnier days, but all I see are dark clouds on the horizon.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

MD already say look at other things for satisfaction instead of money. Like the satisfaction of working for MAS and serving the public. Its like being a commando. You don't do it for the money. You do it for the Honour & Glory!

When the property prices are rising and cost of living is increasing, can we tell the developers and utilities companies not to charge us so much since we have honor and glory?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When the property prices are rising and cost of living is increasing, can we tell the developers and utilities companies not to charge us so much since we have honor and glory?

MD pays everyone more than enough to cover the developers and utilities. He's just saying everyone shouldn't expect him to pay an amount that allows people to enjoy the finer luxuries in life.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I really want to serve the public and be proud of what I am doing.

Unlike many others here, salary is not a big issue for me.

But everyday, my morale gets drained.

I want to get things done, but in front of me, there are 99 layers to clear. These are simple things. I do not need so many layers. These extra layers do not value-add at all, and I say this without mincing my words.

The process is a disaster. Bosses here have become so risk-averse, asking tons of immaterial questions. It has made life a nightmare for officers who want to get things done. Some things are simply unknowable until we try. Yet the bosses insist they have to be known before we even try. Can anyone see how ridiculous this it? Many of my colleagues just accept it and smoke their way through. But I want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, doing the right thing here is very hard here. People only hear what they want to hear. Taking the path of least resistance is the easiest thing to do, but it is often the wrong one. But hey, why try so hard right?

I work in a regulatory department. When I liaise with foreign counterparts, I find their thinking to be a lot more mature. They are able to evaluate situations holistically. They also have a lot more trust in their colleagues. This is unlike here. My bosses are so focused on narrow points that they miss the bigger picture. They have trouble accepting that what we currently have is in not ideal compared to foreign jurisdictions, so they force themselves to justify it. They are so afraid of explaining our regulations that our most common suggestion is for the other party to seek legal advice. They have so little trust in others that they even want to get involved in areas where there are already plenty of experts sitting in.

With each passing day, I find my desire to do the right thing dissipating. Unfortunately, this has been difficult for me. I cannot live with contradictions, but my colleagues don't have this problem at all. They have absolutely no qualms providing suggestions that are half-baked and will only lead to greater problems down the road. Every time I do this, I find my soul shedding a tear.

My colleagues are very friendly and nice people to talk to. But I cannot understand why MAS works in such a bad way. Is it unique to MAS? Is it to unique to the Public Service? Is it unique to Singapore culture? I really don't know. The same colleagues tell me not to feel bad about it. If anything screws up, it is on MAS, not me. That is true, and perhaps necessary to convince myself to take the path of least resistance.

Alas, I hope for sunnier days, but all I see are dark clouds on the horizon.

I feel u....

I concur. There are people who genuinely wish to serve SG in their own capacity but its becoming more and more challenging to do so based on some of the challenges shown.

I think the layers of clearing is quite common within public service. Just that MAS bosses are probably overdoing it and playing things too safe just to show that they "add incremental" value, where in reality it is not required (such as paraphrasing language and/or ask low value queries). They also need to understand that this is the financial sector where agility is required and typical govt practices would prove more of a hindrance.

In short, it is simply the way they show their own insecurities and under the guise of "exploring possibilities" where shortsightedness overtakes long term practicalities. The result has been the middle layers just accepting these as part of their life and give the bosses what they want to hear though not good for long term. Not optimistic on how things work within and likely this downward spiral will keep going.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I really want to serve the public and be proud of what I am doing.

Unlike many others here, salary is not a big issue for me.

But everyday, my morale gets drained.

I want to get things done, but in front of me, there are 99 layers to clear. These are simple things. I do not need so many layers. These extra layers do not value-add at all, and I say this without mincing my words.

The process is a disaster. Bosses here have become so risk-averse, asking tons of immaterial questions. It has made life a nightmare for officers who want to get things done. Some things are simply unknowable until we try. Yet the bosses insist they have to be known before we even try. Can anyone see how ridiculous this it? Many of my colleagues just accept it and smoke their way through. But I want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, doing the right thing here is very hard here. People only hear what they want to hear. Taking the path of least resistance is the easiest thing to do, but it is often the wrong one. But hey, why try so hard right?

I work in a regulatory department. When I liaise with foreign counterparts, I find their thinking to be a lot more mature. They are able to evaluate situations holistically. They also have a lot more trust in their colleagues. This is unlike here. My bosses are so focused on narrow points that they miss the bigger picture. They have trouble accepting that what we currently have is in not ideal compared to foreign jurisdictions, so they force themselves to justify it. They are so afraid of explaining our regulations that our most common suggestion is for the other party to seek legal advice. They have so little trust in others that they even want to get involved in areas where there are already plenty of experts sitting in.

With each passing day, I find my desire to do the right thing dissipating. Unfortunately, this has been difficult for me. I cannot live with contradictions, but my colleagues don't have this problem at all. They have absolutely no qualms providing suggestions that are half-baked and will only lead to greater problems down the road. Every time I do this, I find my soul shedding a tear.

My colleagues are very friendly and nice people to talk to. But I cannot understand why MAS works in such a bad way. Is it unique to MAS? Is it to unique to the Public Service? Is it unique to Singapore culture? I really don't know. The same colleagues tell me not to feel bad about it. If anything screws up, it is on MAS, not me. That is true, and perhaps necessary to convince myself to take the path of least resistance.

Alas, I hope for sunnier days, but all I see are dark clouds on the horizon.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

MD pays everyone more than enough to cover the developers and utilities. He's just saying everyone shouldn't expect him to pay an amount that allows people to enjoy the finer luxuries in life.

Wow.. A great example of standing in solidarity with the organization to the extent that it's laughable. If you are a HR rep, would prefer HR to perform more value added services for MAS' long term growth and do more for staff instead of attempting to "cover up". Life must be good there.