NETWORKING FOR FLEXI-JOBS
Sunday Mail, 20 Apr 2003
Fifty-two-year-old Cindy Lim needed a job fast. After more than 20 years of marriage, she was left to fend for her family on her own. She supports two college-going children - one with the chronic disease SLE (Systemic lupus erythematosus), who needs her care from time to time - so Lim needed to be able to work flexible hours.
The job had to be one that did not need references or experience. Aside from a brief two-year stint of working years ago, her life has been about taking care of her home, husband and children - a lot of responsibility but worth zero in the eyes of an employer.
With these limitations, Lim knew she could not afford to be fussy and applied for a job as a kitchen helper at a restaurant near her home. When the proprietor asked whether she was married, she had to retort, "Why? I am looking for a job, not a husband."
So even a dishwashing job was out of reach for an older woman who wanted to earn some cash to support her family.
The sad reality, however, is that Lim is by no means unique. If you've been out of the job market for half your life and need something fast, then be prepared for a frustrating wait.
Two women, who experienced first-hand the difficulties of starting a new career in their 40s, did more than just wait. Tham Yew Wai, a real estate agent, and Phang Sow Yoong, the sole-proprietress of Word-Design Communications, formed Flexxi Associates Sdn Bhd in 2001.
The double 'X' in Flexxi represents the two founders, who help each other balance their business and home responsibilities, explains Phang. Both women had stopped their careers mid-way after starting a family. Now that the children have grown up, they are "back in action."
As a widow, Tham has been counselling many others in the same situation. From her experience, both Tham and Phang realised that there was a pressing need for jobs with flexible working hours for single mothers, to enable them to work and look after their children.
"Some degree or MBA holders are just twiddling their thumbs at home because no one wants to give a flexible job to a middle-aged woman working from home," says Phang.
In order to promote flexible work practices, Flexxi Associates provides networking for women looking fo jobs with flexible hours or home-based money-making ventures. This is done by holding seminars that direct women to job opportunities or pair them up with potential employers.
Phang, who is a director of Flexxi Associates, says: "We wish to educate companies on the advantages of engaging a flexible workforce. We also have contingency plans for people to work in teams so we can help each other out during emergencies.
"That is why most of the businesses we look for match-ups with are family-friendly," adds Phang.
Lim, for instance, does patchwork quilts as a hobby. Now she is looking for buyers for the quilts and if the business takes off, others who want to be trained in the art can help out in meeting the demand. With another friend, who first told her about Flexxi Associates, Lim also wants to start a home-based business altering clothes.
Phang says Flexxi Associates is, "not just a business. The mission is to change people's mindset so flexi-work and teleworking will become more common and help especially women to balance family and work. We believe that one must build a business around one's passion or interests in order to enjoy work."
Besides practising what it preaches, Flexxi Associates teams up with other corporations and individuals to spearhead the establishment of small businesses that, in turn, would create a range of flexible work practices like freelance, cousultancy, job-sharing, flexi-hours and project-based, part-time or home-based jobs.
"Once upon a time, we were among the 'hidden human resources' after we quit our jobs for our families. Now, we want to create a selection of flexible jobs to harness the skills of those who cannot work full time due to family or health reasons," add Phang.
Flexxi Associates also envisions establishing a teleworking centre, where homemakers in the neighbourhood can be trained in IT and work flexible hours under the guidance of qualified trainers.
"We are determined that neither stay-at-home nor working women will be left out or marginalised in this IT era. We want to make IT education an integral part of our personal and business development because Internet technology is a boon to people who value job flexibility," says Phang.
To publicise its networking, Flexxi Associates regularly holds Flexxi Networking Teas, which are open to both men and women.
Since the first one last year, the teas have become a regular meeting place for home-based and small-business entrepreneurs, freelancers, consultants and people who are self-employed to interact and promothe their products and services.
Phang says while the group doesn't promote itself as a "self-help women's group," they have found that women do find strength from each other's experiences.
"Some of these women never even had to queue up to pay their bills because they had husbands to do that for them. So sometimes, it helps to hear that there are others who have been through the same thing and are successfully independent now," she adds.
For more information on Flexxi Associates or the next Flexxi Networking Tea gathering, visit www.flexxi.com.my on the Internet.
FLEXXI ASSOCIATES
The Star In-Tech, 26 Feb 2002
It is worth noting that organizations aren't the only ones encouraging teleworking. Take for instance, Phang Sow Yoong, the sole proprietor of a corporate publications company, Word-Design Communications.
Phang has enjoyed the benefits of teleworking for more than 25 years now, and as part of her initiative to encourage teleworking, she recently teamed up with her close friend Tham Yew Wai to form Flexxi Associates Sdn. Bhd.
"Tham Yew Wai is a homemaker and single mum, and we have known each other since we were teenagers," she told In.Tech in an e-mail interview.
Phang said that there were two reasons that prompted the formation of Flexxi Associates.
"Firstly, as a widow, Tham has been counselling many others in her situation, and from her experience, we realise that there was a pressing need for single mums to get jobs that gave them flexible working hours so that they could stay at home.
"Secondly, in the course of my work, I noticed that a lot of business opportunities were open to teleworkers as more and more corporations downsize and outsource parts of their operations," she said.
The two women want to use their company to promote flexible working arrangements to encourage a better balance between work and home life.
"We feel that while work is important, it should not so dominate a person's life that it destroys family relationships and your personal life," said Phang.
Flexxi Associates is currently in the process of setting up a teleworking centre to train homemakers and retirees to become teleworkers. The centre will be located at Phang's office in Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. According to Phang, they want to encourage teleworker-wannabes to master IT by making the fees affordable and making it possible for them to learn among their peers.
"We realise that many homemakers find IT courses beyond their budget. We have IT trainers in our midst who are willing to give training at reasonable fees. Our teleworking centre is open mainly to members who are interested to telework after the training.
"We don't intend to compete with IT training centres. It is basically a service to Flexxi members or associates," she said. Phang said that one associate will later help to mould this group of teleworkers into competent "K-workers".
"When we have a ready source of K-workers, we will market our services and look for jobs that will allow our members to work flexible hours, either from home or from our teleworking centre," said Phang.
The company will be organising a series of "tea gatherings" for networking and knowledge-sharing from May to October.
"We realise that teleworkers need to get out of their home offices and meet people of similar interests," said Phang.
"The Flexxi Networking Tea gatherings will also serve as a place for employers or corporations to contact teleworkers for ad hoc jobs or short-term projects," she added.
For more information on Flexxi Associates or the Flexxi Networking Tea gathering, please call Sow Yoong at (012) 292-1460
