Daily Lesson from Life 03 May 2009

"Sun, May 03, 2009 The New Paper - It's less stressful to be fired than to stay hired

FIRST the financial crisis. Now, the swine flu.

In such worrisome times, who has it worse? Those with jobs or those who have been retrenched?

In a quick poll of 20 people, 17 told The New Paper that they felt the survivors were likely to be more stressed than those who were retrenched. This is because they continue to labour under the threat of being laid off.

Their sentiments reflect a recent UK study claiming that those who keep their jobs - but who fear being told to go - wind up more stressed than those laid off.

This study was presented by Dr Brendan Burchell from the University of Cambridge's sociology department on March 6.


It found that employed people who fear losing their jobs become as stressed as those who were unemployed.

But while the unemployed start to recover from their anxiety after six months, said Dr Burchell, the mental health of those who keep their job 'worsens for at least one or two years' after hearing about impending job cuts.


Dr Burchell's study was based on his observations of about 300 British workers, various European workforce studies and the British Household Survey of about 5,000 people, which tracked their mental health since 1991."

There is NO one right answer to this question as it is very personal and situational for me. If you are ready to retire and you get retrenched with a windfall (tax-free too!) then you will be happy instead of being stressed! But if you were still young and with young family members to support, the lump sum will not last very long and you will be stressed about finding another income generating source!

Lessons for me are:

1. be financially independence. Live within your mean. Be flexible when you are out-of-job. Rally the family and get them to appreciate the implication of you, especially if you are the sole bread earner, losing your job and continued to be unemployed for a 6-12 months period! Everyone need to adjust! Business as usual is NOT good enough!!;

2. teach sacrifice at this dire time. Change from: 'I want' to 'Do I really need this? or Can we do with something else?'. Especially the children, whom I believed Singaporeans' parents have pampered too much! Most will find it traumatic to adjust. But adjust they must to lessen the stress and guilt feeling of the parents for NOT able to keep up with the Jones!! Or Tans!!;

3. find an income generating source as quickly as possible. Be flexible and take a job first! Put food on the table is number 1 priority;

4. be prepared to go below the poverty line to get help from the government. Familiar yourself with all kinds of schemes that are on offer to help to truly down and out. You can find a few hundred here and there.

Nobody can help you unless you allowed yourself to seek peace and calm within. Let your ego aside. Let your pride aside. It is survival. There is a way out - legally. Don't give up. Helps are around if you ask. Like they said: there are doors that wait for someone to knock on so they can be opened!

Not pretty. But can survive this crisis!