MS CHEN Meiwen was a manager with an IT company in Singapore. Last December, she was told that her company was restructuring and she was one of those to be let go.
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PICTURE:LIANHE ZAOBAO

Recounting that moment to Lianhe Zaobao, Ms Chen, 31, said she was quite calm at the time.

'I think it was because my boss had mentally prepared me for the possibility. The communication process was very good, so the news did not come as a shock.'

After she lost her job, Ms Chen did not wallow in self-pity. After gathering up her stuff from the office, she packed her bags and decided to go on a long vacation.

'I've always wanted to travel, but never found the time. After being let go, I felt this was the best time to do it.

'So I spent two weeks in Thailand. Besides signing up for a cooking course, I also went up to Chiangmai, to distance myself from all my woes.'

Ms Chen also visited Taiwan with her 78-year-old grandmother. 'Granny had asked me to take her on a vacation before, and I had the time to grant her wish,' she said.

She also felt that it was a good time for her to find herself all over again. Besides travelling, she also spent time reading and started dancing again, signing up for jazz dance lessons.

'When the financial crisis finally reached my doorstep, I felt a bit down initially. But I felt my loss could be turned into some form of gain.'

She said she had put her heart and soul into her work. But after losing her job, she realised that no matter how hard she worked, big businesses always put their own survival as priority.

She finally understood that she had to love herself more and start spending more time with her family and friends.

She said: 'Now I'm going to smell the roses more, to take note of things around me, and to go to places I didn't have the time to visit.'

Ms Chen was lucky enough to find a new job recently. But she set herself some rules, like stopping work at 7pm, to take part in activities like dancing and chilling out with friends as much as possible. She is even planning to take part in a marathon this year.

'My attitude towards work and life now is totally different,' she said. 'As employees, of course we have the responsibility to do our jobs well. But it's important to love yourself and to be happy, too.'
from: newpaper.asia1.com.sg