THE pressure of an increasingly demanding work culture, family obligations, marriage life and ourselves perhaps the biggest & most pressing challenges faced by working individuals today.
Solomon Women Newspapers thought it would be interesting to interview Suzanne and see what she will share about women tackling stress and work life balance.
Solomon Women Newspaper (SWN): Brief Background about yourself and the job you currently doing?
Suzanne Moli Orudiana (SMO): My name is Suzanne Moli Orudiana. I am from Kwara’ae, Malaita Province and the eldest in a family of 5. My dear husband, Noel Orudiana who is part Malaita and Temotu, had our first child in 1998 while we were studying in PNG and got married over the Christmas break that same year. We now have three kids with the eldest son Peter doing his 5th form in high school, our daughter Melanie is in Grade 3 and our baby son Jay in his 2nd year in Kindy.
I attended high school at Selwyn College and got my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the University of Technology in Lae, PNG. In September 2001, at the age of 24, I started my first employment with the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) as their Systems Analyst. In 2006, I became the Fund’s Assistant Manager IT and a year later, went on to become the Manager IT.
During that time SINPF faced a very high turnover of Staff in the IT Department, leaving sometimes only one staff manning the IT department for a length of period. As the Manager IT, I am responsible for molding my team to ensure they perform their duties to achieve the work plans of the Department & the Organization as a whole.
To ensure the Vision the team set is achievable and we work towards achieving that vision. Through Working Women Tackling Stress and Work Life Balance renewals of contracts, I am humbled and privileged to still be with the Fund as their Manager IT.
SWN: What are some keys that help you manage everything on the plate vying your time and energy at work?
SMO: I am fortunate to have an understanding husband whom has allowed me to choose my own path and set my own priorities and has supported me in any way he could. That is one important factor in life, to have a supportive partner. There are challenges in life that we all go through; both personally and at work, but there are always ways and means in addressing and adapting to those challenges. As a working mother, another key area is managing the needs of our children, the household and those who look to us for support. I can say again that I’m humbled and blessed to have a husband that I trust to take care of my family’s needs including the support of relatives from my side and my husband’s side. I have full trust in them therefore am able to concentrate on my job. The benefits I get through my job are very important as well as they help me cope with life and work. I must say that I have a great team to work with in the IT department as well. They are reliable, responsible and intelligent and understand their role to support the work we do. An important lesson here is getting the right people through the recruitment process for the job. This helps you as a manager to effectively manage staff and work with less stress.
SWN: Why is it important for women to focus on their priorities?
SMO: My number one priority is the happiness of my family, my children’s future, their health and their ability to be independent. By focusing on these priorities, we set ourselves up to fulfil these through what we do at home, at work and in our leisure time. As much as we like things to turn out right all the time, the reality is there are a lot of challenges out there. Challenges we face in life, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially and socially. But it is these challenges that molds us and define who we are. These challenges help us set our priorities right for the good of our family and our nation as a whole. Family happiness generates good energy, and that good energy makes us do positive things for ourselves, our family and the environment we live and work in.
SWN: How does stress affect a person’s performance?
SMO: Stress is always seen as a negative vibe, and if we continue to dwell in it, it produces negative outcomes which results in poor performance, deteriorating health conditions, addictions of certain social behaviors and so on. There are ways to deal with stress, and we can seek support from friends we trust and from our parents as well if it is affecting us. Most of all we seek help from the Almighty, the creature of our universe to show us the way to a stress free life.
SWN: How can busy working women find time for romance and relationships?
SMO: Busy working women as we are can become so tired up in our work that we forgot the important things in life; and that is to have a healthy relationship with our partner. This is what keeps couples connected and the lack of it creates imbalance in the relationship. Most of us women go through these challenges in life, and it is very important to keep the romance alive in the relationship because that is the core of happiness along with trust and faith in a good marriage. Even if we are too busy working, put a little sparkle in your marriage and love life. Love in a relationship extends to happiness of our children.
SWN: What are three things busy working women can do right now to get more balance in their life?
SMO: Set priorities right in our home, marriage life, and workplace and with ourselves, and continue remind ourselves to stick to them.
SWN: What are three simple ways for super working women can do to improve their self-care?
SMO: Live simply, don’t compare yourself with others and enjoy the positive activities that will boost up your self-esteem.
SWN: Anything else you wish to share with other working women?
SMO: Those of us, whom are born into the Christian Faith, will find the answers to help us balance our life in the Bible. From how we should treat each other, how we should use our finances, wealth, how we should live, how we should eat to live a healthy life ….everything. It’s all there. My challenge now is to have more passion in building up our Faith in the Almighty, our Creature.
