Observing with empathy, asking the right questions and listening will go a long way to charting out how to give meaningful support. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. Diversity, equity and inclusion are aspirational ideals that have permeated conversations of work life and good employment. Yet, there is still room for improvement when it comes to putting these aspirations into practice, if a survey on diversity issues commissioned by The Straits Times and release in August is anything to go by. In this episode, ST journalist Tay Hong Yi finds out how employers and employees both have their part to play in making workplaces more inclusive in meaningful ways without patronising those who benefit. His guests are: Ms Winifred Ling, a couples therapist and relationship coach who has lived with an invisible disability for close to two decades Ms Hsu Yi Peng, a young leader who helmed an initiative to provide students with diverse needs internship opportunities at her company, HSBC, on top of her day job as a product specialist. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:46 How did the idea of diversity, equity and inclusion come to the guests’ attention? 5:01 What was the learning curve like for Yi Peng when she took on the initiative? 9:20 Should employers or employees lead the charge to promote inclusion? 13:20 How did HSBC devise the support moves for students in the initiative? 19:12 How to balance between providing accommodations and seeing individuals for who they are beyond their traits? Read the feature by Rosalind Ang discussed on the podcast: https://str.sg/x4oC Read Tay Hong Yi's articles: https://str.sg/w6cz Follow Tay Hong Yi on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/AAxy Host: Tay Hong Yi ([email protected]) Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow Follow HeadSTart On Record Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3 Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9 Feedback to: [email protected] Get business/career tips in ST's HeadSTart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl --- Follow more podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #headstartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don’t all have to live frugally and retire by 40 years old, but we need to be financially disciplined so we can retire meaningfully. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. FIRE in this context, stands for financial independence, retire early - a movement that points to the desire to retire earlier than the usual age range of 65 to 70, through a regime of aggressive investing, saving and frugality during one’s working years.  In this episode, ST business correspondent Sue-Ann Tan investigates if Fire is for everyone, and if there are other ways to sustainably achieve financial freedom and retire at leisure.  Her guests are Mr He Ruiming, 35, who as co-founder of the Woke Salaryman, talks about how he initially wanted to retire at the age of 32, and DBS financial literacy expert Lorna Tan, who feels that retiring meaningfully is more important to her.  Highlights (click/tap above): 1:42 What are the different types of Fire? 3:14 Ruiming’s journey to achieve Fire by the age of 32 9:40 If I’m 25 now, what should I do to retire at 40?  12:56 What Ruiming wished he knew when he was younger 16:45 Lorna’s alternative to Fire, which is 'Firm' - financial independence, retiring meaningfully  21:46 Trends like loud budgeting which support more financial discipline  27:29 Using excel spreadsheets to track finances and goals  Read Sue-Ann Tan's articles: https://str.sg/mvSa Follow Sue-Ann Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/A86X Host: Sue-Ann Tan ([email protected]) Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow Follow HeadSTart On Record Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3 Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9 Feedback to: [email protected] Get business/career tips in ST's HeadSTart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl --- Follow more podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #headstartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Salaries need to be structured more flexibly to reflect broader aspirations. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. Views on pay issues vary widely among young workers depending on their professional and life goals. This was borne out in a survey of 1,000 young people commissioned by The Straits Times, carried out in May by market research firm Kantar and released in August. In this episode, ST journalist Tay Hong Yi digs deeper into the implications of the results and underlying beliefs that give rise to different attitudes. His guests are Dr Fermin Diez, a researcher on compensation issues with over 30 years of corporate experience, and young professional Jonathan Ng, a business development manager with robotics company Otsaw – all while studying for a degree in marketing at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Highlights (click/tap above): 2:38 How has working and studying at the same time influenced Jonathan’s views on salary? 4:10 How have career norms shifted? 8:33 Are companies keeping up with these shifting norms in how pay is designed? 12:43 Why does satisfaction with one’s salary and work-life balance decline with age? 15:29 Disclosing salary details  22:14 How can employers deal with inter-generational differences on how pay is perceived? Read the feature by Prisca Ang discussed on the podcast: https://str.sg/9aLR Read Tay Hong Yi's articles: https://str.sg/w6cz Follow Tay Hong Yi on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/AAxy Host: Tay Hong Yi ([email protected]) Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow Follow HeadSTart On Record Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3 Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9 Feedback to: [email protected] Get business/career tips in ST's HeadSTart newsletter: str.sg/headstart-nl --- Follow more podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #headstartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.