Collectivism

1 Collectivism Historical & Cultural Background: What part of the country was your family member raised in, and during what era? How would you define the socioeconomic status of your family member’s immediate family growing up? What kind of neighborhood were they raised in? What kind of cultural values (see our text/class notes) may have influenced their occupational choices?

Case Study: Part1 Historical & Cultural Background My father was born and raised in Saudi Arabia; he lived in al Taif town with his family.

Al Taif is located in the western part of Saudi Arabia. During that period, the Emirates of Makkah administered the region. My father's family is from the Western Coast of al Taif and, as a result, our family settled in the same area. In Saudi culture, a family resides close to the father's place of origin. My father's family is relatively small compared to the average family size in Saudi Arabia.

I am the first born of four siblings; two brothers and one sister, whom I love very much.

As a family oriented individual, family means everything to me. Additionally, I respect my father very much for the role he plays as the sole breadwinner of the family.

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2 The socioeconomic status of a person is classified according to their income, occupation, and level of education. My father comes from a middle-class family since they never lacked their basic needs such as food, shelter, education and clothing. However, besides these primary needs, they did not have excess to spend on luxuries. The family led a simple but comfortable life.

Moreover, his family owned a ranch which was their primary source of income. It sustained the whole family including paying for their education. As a result, the family was self-reliant, and unlike many families during that time, they did not have to rely on the community. My father's father had an extra source of income in addition to the ranch since he was a teacher in a local school. This added to the family income enabling them to live a comfortable life. My father's mother was a housewife whose work was to take care of the whole family and the ranch when the husband was away.

My father lived in a calm and peaceful neighbourhood which provided a conducive environment for families to live harmoniously with each other. The tranquillity also enhanced people's productivity. Everyone in the neighbourhood was in friendly terms with each other.

People were kind, open and welcoming to each other and even to visitors. It was common for people to frequently visit each other's houses and enjoy a meal together while watching television or listening to the radio.

Parents trusted each other; therefore children were allowed to play with each other, and if they got late playing at one of the children's house, they were allowed to have dinner at their friend's house. The neighbourhood co-existed peacefully, almost as if they were one big family.

There was no drama, hate or envy.

The community was guided by the cultural principles of respect, love, and obedience.

People lived in peace with each other since they respected and obeyed the values in the society.

3 Also, the society was bound together by a strong and genuine love for each other, and as a result, everyone was kind and open to each other. Some actions are never successful without love.

Besides, children respected their parents and would do whatever they were requested to.

My father's father was emphatic that one of his children should become a doctor. My father, being one of the brightest siblings was selcted by his father to pursue medine. He was sent to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi to study. He did not like Riyadh because it was hot and dry, unlike his hometown. However, despite it not being his will to study medicine, he worked hard, excelled in his exams and qualified to become a doctor because it was important for him to obey his father. His father, in return, was proud to have a doctor from his family.

Personality & Motivation: What kind of personality does (or did, when they were younger) your family member have? How has their personality possibly shaped their occupational choices or experiences? What kinds of challenges have they faced in feeling motivated at work over the years?

Case Study: Part 2 Personality and Motivation

My father was the first born child and was naturally expected to take care of his siblings. The role he played as a first born as well as his family’s expectations of him made him focused and responsible. Additionally, his parents were busy in their respective duties; his father was a teacher, and his mother a housewife who took care of the family ranch most of the time.

Therefore, his parents were busy with the responsibility of providing for the family, leaving certain responsibilities to him and his younger siblings. My father demonstrated leadership traits from an early age; besides being

4 responsible, he was extraverted. This was shown by his social behavior where he enjoyed playing soccer after school and during weekends with his friends and relatives. All the children in the community knew and loved him because of his pleasant personality and his talent in soccer. Their parents would invite him for supper whenever it got late when playing.

He would often visit his uncle to watch television. He particularly enjoyed cartoons but was restricted from watching them at home during the week. My father would interact freely with his uncle's family and take dinner with their family whenever it was served in his presence and he was invited to join them. Additionally, by deciding to study medicine instead of business, which he was passionate about, he showed that he respected and obeyed his father. Besides his family, he had learned to help other people in society without expecting anything in return as compensation. These early experiences made my father develop a benevolent personality.

My father's pleasant, friendly and outgoing personality have helped shape his career in medicine. His sociability enables him to interact efficiently with the people who he met on a daily basis such as other doctors and patients. His kind and caring character help him handle patients well since patients' need attention, love, and care, especially the children. His humor helps him interact with and encourage patients who are weak and feeling low. His kind heartedness and likeability have enabled him to get a job at a location near the family home; therefore, he does not incur any transportation costs. He is genuinely liked and respected by his colleagues

5 and bosses because he performs his duties diligently and demonstrates good teamwork.

My father pursued medicine and was lucky enough to secure a job.

However, he is often demoralized by his boss’s management style. My father often has little control of his daily schedule, and this frustrates and exhausts him. The boss assigns him additional duties without consulting him and even when he is exhausted or has too much work already, he has to complete all the work assigned to him. This, coupled with the fact that he is in a career that he did not choose for himself, makes my father think of retiring early to pursue his other dreams. For the last four years, he has been considering quitting medicine, but my mother asks him to hold on. In Saudi, the retirement age is 60 years, and my father has many years to reach that age.

He holds on because he realizes that he has a responsibility towards his patients, his employer, his family and his father.

My father grew up in a collectivist society which emphasizes the attainment of family and societal goals above individual goals. This results in a strong sense of obligation towards other people.

Stress, Emotions & Communication: What has your family member found most stressful about their work in the past, and how have they more successfully or less successfully managed it?

What kind of work/life balance have they had to contend with or achieved? What kind of communicator is your family member at work? How have they handled any "crucial conversations?"

6 Case study: part 3 Stress, Emotions & Communication My father faces a lot of pressure in his career as a deputy assistant in public health because, on a daily basis, he has to meet different types of people who need his assistance. The stress of his job demoralizes him, and for a while, he has been unhappy with his job. The thought of having to do the same thing for several more years stresses him even further. Also, his working environment is extremely challenging due to his boss’s poor communication. The boss frequently assigns him complicated tasks that he has to finish without asking him. His workload is therefore very heavy every day. This makes him consider retiring early.

My father's work involves listening to people’s challenges and complaints, and trying to solve their problems, which is not an easy job. He is forced to work long hours because even after leaving the office, he receives calls from both his boss and employees asking for his help.

This often requires his concentration and he is unable to find time to relax and spend time with his family. He feels as though his work has extended into his personal time. He believes that he should have time to do the things he enjoys, and not have to work all the time. Over the past year, he has had to take a lot of breaks and vacations, so he could relax and spend time with us.

Despite all the challenges, my father is an excellent communicator who is recognized for his excellent oratory skills. His job involves a significant amount of talking because he is often in discussions with the boss, employees and/or the clients. My father's job also involves meetings which are held regularly during opening ceremonies of the public clinics where he has to give great speeches. He is also required to talk during meetings with the fellow public health officers, where he gives presentations about the progress of his work.

7 Additionally, my father is a good storyteller. During his free time he entertains us with interesting and humorous stories. Therefore, due to his tendency of telling stories, his verbal communication is very fluent which makes him interact well with all types of people whom he meets on his career path. My grandfather always tells us how my father used to be very talkative when he was young, and he would always appear in the list of noisemakers in his class. His urge to talk has taken him very far as verbal communication is an essential skill in one’s career.

My father has always been a calm person who does not display his emotions, even when hurt because the society he was raised in values resilience and strength. His career has also shaped him into a patient and persistent man. However, in recent years he has gone through challenges which have tested his resilience. Firstly, his father has been battling a disease which has left him weak and completely different from his usual robust lively self. Secondly, his career does not fulfill him, yet he cannot resign because he wants to make his father, wife and society proud. .His job has gradually become a constant source of anxiety and stress.