Aug 25 2025, 01:57 AM
QUOTE(walau2020 @ Aug 21 2025, 12:03 PM)
Been seeing all the news about Malaysia's economy growing, attracting FDI, and creating "high-value" jobs. But then I look at my own day-to-day, and I have to wonder, is this true?
I see so many of my friends and colleagues in professional roles with those canggih-canggih titles – Analysts, Specialists, Executives, and bla bla bla.
But honestly, when we talk about our actual work, a common theme emerges: massive amount of our time is spent on manual work.
Manually copy-pasting everything, line by line, into our internal systems.
Double-checking everything by eye, just hoping there is no typo.
Sending the same follow-up emails over and over.
I have talked with my friends in similar roles and it is the same story, sometimes even worse in the SMEs.
So it got me thinking... maybe this is why many of us feel stuck at the lower chain of the job. We, Malaysian seen as "efficient" because our labor is cheaper, not because our processes are actually smart. Our value is measured by how fast we can do the manual work, not how much we can improve the process.
What you are referring to is scaling the process, or scalability...I see so many of my friends and colleagues in professional roles with those canggih-canggih titles – Analysts, Specialists, Executives, and bla bla bla.
But honestly, when we talk about our actual work, a common theme emerges: massive amount of our time is spent on manual work.
Manually copy-pasting everything, line by line, into our internal systems.
Double-checking everything by eye, just hoping there is no typo.
Sending the same follow-up emails over and over.
I have talked with my friends in similar roles and it is the same story, sometimes even worse in the SMEs.
So it got me thinking... maybe this is why many of us feel stuck at the lower chain of the job. We, Malaysian seen as "efficient" because our labor is cheaper, not because our processes are actually smart. Our value is measured by how fast we can do the manual work, not how much we can improve the process.
Scalability has its pros and cons... When you talk about mass-production, products / work may be pushed fast in controlled quality, but scalability can and most often come with the limitation of lacking niche-based innovation.
For example, technology / system that is commonly used in the world is like Proton cars... The same way as you are scaling with the stated tech, it doesn't separate you from using Proton...
So, this is where certain form of manual work comes in.. Much like Nissan GTR or even Bentley, these kinds of laborous work building a car can offer a different form of standard and performance versus the widely-produced deliverables.
QUOTE(walau2020 @ Aug 21 2025, 12:03 PM)
How much of your job is actually 'thinking' work that requires your brain vs just manual, copy-paste grunt work that makes you feel like a robot?
If this is a common thing, why do you think it's still like this? Is it just the classic culture of 'it's always been this way'? Are the bosses kedekut to pay for better software? Or do they just not know how much time this stuff really takes up?
And for those who have managed to escape this cycle, I really want to know: What is your 'life hack'? What software, crazy Excel macro, or new process did you find that actually worked? And the million-dollar question: how did you convince your boss to actually approve it?
Keen to hear your thoughts. Is it just me being siok sendiri here, or is this a shared frustration for many of us? Would be great to hear from all angles too. If you are a decision maker or tauke, what are the real challenges in changing these old processes?
My job is both thinking (architectural planning), automated, and also manual... I am also mostly the decision-maker in the digital ecosystem for the MNC situated here...If this is a common thing, why do you think it's still like this? Is it just the classic culture of 'it's always been this way'? Are the bosses kedekut to pay for better software? Or do they just not know how much time this stuff really takes up?
And for those who have managed to escape this cycle, I really want to know: What is your 'life hack'? What software, crazy Excel macro, or new process did you find that actually worked? And the million-dollar question: how did you convince your boss to actually approve it?
Keen to hear your thoughts. Is it just me being siok sendiri here, or is this a shared frustration for many of us? Would be great to hear from all angles too. If you are a decision maker or tauke, what are the real challenges in changing these old processes?
Like any firms you work in ---- big-sized MNCs or small ---- you would be bound to have limitations of financial and operational controls....
As such, not every systems can be sought due to budgeting reasons or whatsoever out there...
But again, you would also have to consider long-term trajectory (or competition) in thought... I am working in a field where there are major and established players with heavily-stacked investments worth hundreds of thousands to millions poured-in by our own competitors individually, and we are late into the manufacturing market... With all these stacked up, and with the current team you possess, you need to consider if scaling is truly needed, or if slow, but technically-centered innovation is preferred... In my case, I chose the latter, and mostly now it's manual effort but it's taken us to greater heights and have yielded the much-wanted results...
This post has been edited by Hastebreak: Aug 25 2025, 02:00 AM
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