Link Roundup #46: 10 Things to Know This Week

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Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1. Eligible Malaysians Can Begin Registering For The Malaysians@Work Initiative In April – RinggitPlus

“The initiative, which aims to provide better job opportunities for unemployed Malaysians and to reduce dependency on foreign labour, is a stimulus package conceived to help create up to 350,000 jobs over the next five years.

“Don’t be mistaken that we will only create 350,000 jobs. This is only for the Malaysians@Work programme. It will be in addition to the one million jobs to be created by the private sector,” Guan Eng further clarified.”

The programme has four components to it:

Apprentice@Work
Graduates@Work
Women@Work
Locals@Work

I hope this initiative helps you, I really do.

2. Research Says You Can Earn Way More Money by Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence. Here Are 4 Ways to Do It – Inc

Jobseekers, combine whatever help you can get with self-initiatives. Its not a bad idea to focus on your EQ (emotional intelligence) to make you stand out against other jobseekers. “According to research, people with high levels of emotional intelligence earn an average of $29,000 more annually than those with less emotional intelligence.”

Even people with comfortable jobs should explore this. The job market is so uncertain nowadays. Malaysia Employers Federation’s Executive Director also said that if COVID-19 continues, 100,000 people could be laid off this year. I’m not trying to freak you out, I’m trying to help you prepare.

3. 50 Cognitive Biases of the Modern World – The Visual Capitalist

You know how sometimes I said that companies use decades worth of behaviourial and psychology research in order to subtlely guide you into purchasing their products and services?

Well here you go, some cognitive biases to know and be aware of, in a nice infographic. All of them are good, but pay particular attention to the one with the ‘Money’ label.

4. Poverty is All About Personal Stress, Not Laziness – Bloomberg

“Economists are starting to accumulate evidence that instead of being indolent layabouts, poor people are harried and frantic. To deal with a world of precarity, where any misstep or piece of bad luck can lead to disastrous consequences, requires a massive amount of cognitive effort.

And it’s the stress of that constant effort, rather than bad morals or welfare-inspired laziness, that drives many poor people to make subpar decisions.”

Knowing this – and I know you have the best of intentions with helping the needy – perhaps its not a bad idea to help make the act of receiving help easy and unconditional. Asking poor people to prove that they are poor before they can access help is one example.

‘But what if well-off people take advantage of the help’, you say, ‘that’s a waste of the money!’. You’re right, some people probably will. But will the actions of a few bad apples justify punishing everyone else?

5. I quit my job because of burnout, and here’s what I learned – Glamour

I could no longer ignore that my health was in shambles, I lacked any semblance of a personal life, and I was incapable of being a good friend or daughter because I was so burned out by the demands of my job.

It’s rare to read a personal, intimate account of someone breaking down like this. I mean, I frequently see social media postings about burnout, and while its sad (because some of them are my friends), they don’t share too much about it. Just the surface level.

6. Business Cost of Mental Health Conditions in Your Organisation – Relate Malaysia

That brings us here. To say that A LOT of employees feel burned out is an understatement. And I hate to be the person who brings the business cost into the picture, but sometimes the fear of losing money could be the only thing that prompts employers to take action.

We just published a report on the business costs on mental health. Adds up to staggering RM 14.46 billion! And that’s just a conservative estimate. We need to invest more into mental health! pic.twitter.com/KTu4KeIAdU

— relate (@relatemalaysia) February 17, 2020

Employers, go on and calculate the costs to your organisation at this page. Relate Malaysia made a calculator for you.

Comment here if you want to hire services that help you improve your employees’ mental health. I’ll email you privately.

7. How to Have a Five-Star Paris Experience Without Staying in a Luxury Hotel – Dmarge

We may not be able to travel and satisfy our wanderlust due to COVID-19 fears, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop daydreaming. *happy sigh*

8. Stanford scientist: 12 tiny habits that will instantly make you more productive – CNBC

I love this ‘if this, then that’ list! How many of them are you currently doing, and want to do? No #7 is such a good idea!

After I sit down at my desk, I will put my phone on do not disturb mode.
After I close my office door, I will organize one item that’s lying around.
After I finish reading e-mail, I will close the e-mail browser tab.
After I launch a new Word doc, I will hide all other programs running on my computer.
After I find myself mindlessly browsing social media, I will log out.
After I sit down at a meeting, I will write the title, the date, and the attendees at the top of my notes.
After I notice a call going on for longer than expected, I’ll say this: “It’s been great to talk, but I need to wrap up. What haven’t we covered yet that’s important?”
After I read an important e-mail, I will file it in a folder for the designated project.
After I read an e-mail I can’t deal with immediately, I will mark it as unread.
After I read an e-mail that’s time-sensitive, I will reply with this script: “Got it. I will review it in detail and get back in touch soon.”
After I leave the office, I will think about one success from the day.
After I walk in the door at home, I will hang my keys on the hook.

9. Here’s What Happens When Public Transit Is Free – The Huffington Post

Realistically, I know that most public transportation in Malaysia won’t be provided for free, but it’s nice to dream. I’m just planting that seed, that possibility in there.

10. How I’m Setting My Goals for 2020 – I’m Funemployed

Look at Nicole’s systematic goal-setting table, look! So clear, so clean, so practical. Highly copy-able and makes a great template to your (and my) own goal-setting exercise. Click the link above to read her full thought process.