Just about a week ago, another one of my male colleages decided to call it quits. He's had it! He comes early to work (about 6.30am) and he has to get a host of things done by 8am when people start strolling in for breakfast. This includes boiling water, cooking etc... and most of the time, he is unable to get everything ready on time. I cannot tell if he was given too much to do, or he was slow, but nevertheless, the fact is, he could not always finish his task on time.
There is this older Singaporean auntie who is always on the watch for us migrant workers making mistakes or "slacking" and will complain to the boss. She seems to get a pleasure out of doing that, despite knowing that we work as hard as we can. Fortunately, I have not been in her bad books yet. Anyway, she complained to the boss about this colleague of ours and finally after 4 months, my colleague told the boss that he cannot take it and decided to quit. He still owes a big sum of money from his Agent's fee but he's willing to forego that and just go home. I could tell, it's his last straw, he just cannot take it anymore.
I'm not siding with any one but just laying out the facts from what I see and hear. I know that in my first 4 months when I came, I was not able to work at full effectiveness as I had a tough time adjusting to the different culture, living conditions etc... and I am sure my colleague faces the same. I was fortunate though... receiving few complains.
Last Sunday was his last day so we all went out for dinner. Again we had hot pot. They all drank alot of beer and it cost us SGD30 each. That's alot of money but then, it's a farewell dinner for our colleague.
I really felt sorry for him. It's tough to just make ends meet, not to mentioned being the target of complains. Well, I cannot judge if the complains are justified but I do think he has a tough job to do. There is a time constrain to get everything ready. That's a lot of pressure for someone relatively new.
I understand his consequence. The big debt to pay, the shame of going back when others back home expect you to come back "rich and prosperous". It's a sad day but we're tough people, we'll make it somehow!
No doubt, there are many challenges for the foreign workers and even for the foreign professionals as they need to adapt to the new environment. Only the fittest and the more adaptable ones survive. That's the reality of life. I would say, if you're prepared to rough it out by working overseas, you must be able to bite the bullet and persevere. Then slowly but surely, you'll see light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, that day comes sooner than later. Cheers!!
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