Source: My UM
Walking into the Information and Communication Technology Office (ICTO), and passing a wall lined with main computer units on standby, we were greeted by three oil paintings in a corner, one of fruits and two of cats. The author of the paintings, our interviewee, Chang Kam Seng, was chatting and laughing with his colleagues. Seng’s English name is Arcturus, which is actually a nice match for his Chinese name “星”, because both mean “star in the sky”. But everyone calls him Ah Seng because that’s much neater than the mouthful “Arcturus”.
Ah Seng has been working at UM for eight years, and he has received the Outstanding Performance Award twice. He is well liked by the colleagues, not only because he always comes to the rescue when there is a computer problem, but also because he is always happy. Just like the Arcturus lights up the northern sky, Ah Seng is one of those people who would light up a room.
Throughout our interview, almost every question was replied with a laugh. “Some people think that anything to do with electricity is our job,” Ah Seng says. Working in the Infrastructure and User Services Section, he is mainly responsible for providing IT infrastructure and user support services. During his busiest times, he has to meet with over 20 colleagues every day to solve their computer problems.
“Technology is advancing with each passing day, and so are the problems we have to deal with,” Ah Seng says. “It’s not just about PCs anymore. It could be about WiFi, cell phones, tablets, you name it.” Knowing how to deal with machines is a key to Ah Seng’s being happy at work, but knowing how to deal with people is just as important. “Sometimes if I can’t solve the problem on the spot, I would explain to the colleague that I need more time and I would go back to my office to brainstorm with my colleagues,” says Ah Seng. “It’s better than hover by the colleague’s desk until you figure out the problem, because some people may not like the idea of stopping everything they do just so you could fix the problem. The key is to understand that people are different and to be sensitive about their needs.” Such thoughtfulness and sensitivity make him very popular among the colleagues, but his helpfulness isn’t just limited to office computers; he is always ready to help colleagues to fix problems about their personal tablets or cell phones.
Almost everyone who has received Ah Seng’s service or help likes him. But occasionally his free, well intentioned help would backfire. He mentions one incident where a student asked him to help look at his personal computer which wasn’t working but later complained that Ah Seng was responsible for the machine’s breakdown. So how does he stay happy in a situation like this? “I don’t dwell on such things. I get back to my office and chat with my colleagues and then I forget about it all,” says Ah Seng with a hearty laugh. Not willing to give up, we probed further for his secret of being happy at work for eight long years, and he says, “There is really no secret. It’s just the way I am.”
