Silence Does Not Work When Dealing With Job Loss Blues

It helps to talk about your worries with the others who are affected, and share resources

- Annabelle Liang

Growing up, I was obsessed with collecting toys that came with Happy Meals. Whenever my parents took me to a McDonald's outlet, I looked forward to going home with a Hello Kitty plushie or a Transformers autobot.

For what I thought was a blissful period, my dad started adding a new toy to my collection almost every day.

I learnt only recently that I had got it completely wrong. He had been retrenched. Not wanting to worry my mum, he continued to leave home as usual and spent the day at the library, often having lunch at McDonald's, until he found a new job.

Unbeknownst to him, my mum knew about the ruse. She had tried to reach him in the office and was inadvertently told that he had lost his job.

I did not understand why my parents, who had a loving relationship, found it difficult to talk about retrenchment, until earlier this year.

That was when my then employer, an international media outlet, closed most of the roles in my Singapore-based division.

My colleagues and I were encouraged to apply for new positions that were made available under a restructuring process.

I had dialled into the meeting because I was on annual leave and thousands of miles away from home. Towards the end, we were asked if we had any questions.

I found myself with a jumble of thoughts and nothing to say.

I wandered around a museum and watched a ballet performance. All while feeling like I was going through the five stages of grief.

I kept it from my mum, not wanting to worry her.

In other conversations, I said I was feeling okay. I was determined to focus on the positives.