As Hari Raya is just around the corner and is a time of reflection, forgiveness and appreciation, we wanted to take the time to appreciate loved ones and community around us through the eyes of people of Sunview. In this series we call, “Raya Reflections”, we take a look at how appreciating the peers we have fosters a culture of connection over commonalities and strengthens the bonds of togetherness.
In Sunview, we are fortunate to have many employees who work hard and play hard together and forge strong friendships that go beyond the workplace from driving sustainability for the greater country to building meaningful connections.
This Raya Reflections, we sat down with our fellow employees in RE who work together and who we (Sunview) have known to be best friends in the office and in real life. Siti Hajar (SH), and Nurul Farha (NF), Project Engineers of our Project Rooftop department, share how they appreciate each other, especially with the upcoming Raya.
How did you meet? Did you meet in Sunview?
NF: I started last year and Hajar started 2 weeks right after me. We had never met each other but I received a phone call from her and as she was talking to me, it was as if we had known each other for a long time. I was curious to know, “who is that girl?” (laughs). After that phone call, we met each other in the office the day after.
SH: On my first day, my colleagues were telling me I was not the only female project engineer in the team at the time. I was like thank God, and asked, “wait there is another?” I asked what her name was, and my colleagues mentioned it was “Farha” or “Fafa.” So, I got her contact details from them and the next day I called her, where are you, let’s meet and she was like, “who are you?” I said, “I’m the new girl, let’s meet!”
The week after that, we got our first project together, so we went together to Perak for a week. That was the beginning of our friendship. I always get a lot of questions from others like, “oh did you know Farha before Sunview?” I would tell them, “No, we actually met in Sunview!”
Wow, that’s quite a friendship! Now, if you were to describe your friendship in one word, what would it be and why?
NF: If we have any problems, we will talk, I will tell her about my problems outside of work anytime, sometimes even at 12:30am (laughs), she will pick up my call.
SH: As long as I am not sleeping (laughs). Yes, we would call it supportive. One of my favourite things about working in Sunview is because we have such a good bond as colleagues and as best friends. I am grateful that she is someone I would keep in my life. We can call and talk about a lot of things in our personal lives besides work.
What is something you have learned from your friendship that you can share with others this season as Raya is a time to shower forgiveness and show appreciation?
SH: Find someone you can confide in which will make the work more fun. Having someone to know the nature of work is important because we could be friends with anyone else, but they won’t fully understand what we are looking at every day and having a best friend that has a similar job with you and understands you is very helpful.
NF: Because we are on site a lot, so we will call each other to update what we did and provide perspective about certain things. Some of our conversations are like “am I doing this right,” and we can give that reassurance and validation like, “yes you are right” and “no you are not wrong.” You need this kind of thing from a peer.
These are great insights on how to best support peers, especially with the upcoming festive season! Now, with Raya coming up, how will the both of you be celebrating?
SH: My Raya is the same every year, we get together in my kampung (Negeri Sembilan) and we cook dishes and then we spend time with family and friends. I look forward to seeing family and friends, because Raya is only once a year and other days even during Ramadan, it is hard to get together. Raya is a time for family to get together since not everyone sees one another often.
NF: My kampung is in Terengganu. It is a time to get together with family but it has been tough in the family because the past year we celebrated it with my father who has passed in the same year so this will be the first Raya without him so, to honour him, I will be wearing black this year.
Indeed, it sounds like both of you have a meaningful time in store, do you have any advice for everyone else celebrating Raya?
SH: I think everyone is aware of today’s tragic global events. Be very grateful, knowing that people in certain parts of the world cannot have food, so I would advise everyone to be grateful and keep it moderate. Ramadan is a month to control your desires, spend wisely, and during Raya, people will tend to go all out. Eating a lot is fine but I would advise everyone to eat mindfully and spend wisely. Also, to spend time with family and loved ones.
NF: This is a time for family so for those who have a complete family, so forget work for a while and spend time with family no matter what it is. So even if you aren’t doing anything, you can sit down at the same table and talk. That’s something to appreciate because not everyone has a complete family.
Siti Hajar and Nurul Farha are examples of positive human connections made in the workplace which encourage others to foster meaningful workplace friendships and build strong teams with deep bonds.
Building highly connected teams with strong bonds is crucial for organisational success and to further the sustainability journey. At Sunview, we take great pride in the strong connections our employees have built with each other, our partners and the greater community and we want you to be part of our journey in creating more a hopeful future with renewable energy.
To learn more about building connections in a meaningful industry, check out our career opportunities or contact us.
