Abdulaziz al Jahdhami is a former journalist and now in the corporate world. He launched two books at the 26th Muscat International Book Fair where he signed copies on Monday.
The pandemic period gave him the opportunity to work on his books 'On Stage of Life' and the Arabic version of 'Fuel of Life', which was launched in 2018.
His books look at the journey of life and what people go through. So does it require him to be a good listener or an observer?
"My writing, most of the time, reflects on people's experiences, while some of them are my own stories and experiences in a way which have been the case when I write a weekly column or in the form of books," said Al Jahedhami, who is from Mudhaibi, Sharqiyah.
Being in the corporate world has actually given him the sense of being out of the box and has given him more space to be creative and expressive.
Accordingly, there are elements also in his new book. The chapter titled, 'When you are the brand ambassador' deals with corporate elements.
Another chapter reads: 'A relationship never dies a natural death; they are murdered by attitudes and behaviours, ego or arrogance.'
Yet another chapter looks titled - 'If I were a manager like him'.
So does he come across people who are suffering?
"I have been through experiences of dealing with managers of various attitudes with a distinct outlook on managing their teams. I am sure there are others who are suffering; we receive first-hand experiences from colleagues, friends and relatives. So I thought it would be good to shed light on this topic," he explained.
Managers, this book might be about you.
The chapter 'If I were a Manager like him' states, "I wish to be a manager someday, and if I do become, I would be exemplarily good manager bringing in fruitful results. These are some of the very common utterings among employees while critiquing their bosses. This is another way to express their frustrations or reactions about the workplace and boss in particular. The reason could be work environment or bad management with a discouraging attitude. These are just some observations resulting in employees looking for other alternative job opportunities.
Yes, this is what happens when employees are not taken care of or when an uncaring person occupies the seat, which is supposed to maintain a smooth and friendly environment.
How can you expect good deeds from a dispirited person who is undervalued professionally and ethically? Could you sometimes imagine that sometimes an employee is pushed down mentally and psychologically being overburdened with extra tasks and job requirements on his small plate of tasks are given to do - relevant and irrelevant tasks as per his job description."
So what would the author do in such a situation?
He said: "People long for a stress-free environment. If we have an unpleasant boss one way or the other, we can change him."
There is hope, and never giving up is the message.
Yet another chapter titled, 'Stitching wounds with thread of care' looks at the professional world and appreciates the role of nurses in society.
"Nurses are sometimes not valued enough. They sacrifice their time and life. We had the recent example when the pandemic was at the peak of Coronavirus, and nurses could hardly rest. They were at the hospitals day and night, hardly getting a chance to be with their families as we have seen throughout the world," he noted.
When asked what was the best time for him to write? and Al Jahdhami quipped, "Late night or early morning."
Writing, according to him, "is an art, just like painting or sculpting or singing. Once you have the passion and the motivation to keep up, you will definitely take the time to practice it and write and sacrifice time and effort."
@lakshmioman
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