I quit without a new job despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and I'm not alone

Quitting without a new job in the Singapore context flies in the face of logic to most financially conscious Singaporeans.

Doing so would be all the more reckless now, given the coronavirus pandemic situation. Based on media reports, jobs are being annihilated, with more retrenchments ahead expected.

In the two months since I quit, my admission that I'd voluntarily resigned without another job lined up has been met with concern and a certain amount of incredulity.

"Why now?" and "You know the economy is going to get worse, right?" were common refrains.

I'd admit the potential repercussions made me put a pause on my decision for several months. Not least because I now have a mortgage to pay for and a child to feed. I also happened to earn a significantly higher salary than my husband. But with his support, I decided it was time.

I had been in the same company for 12 years, and found myself growing increasingly restless and exhausted by the daily grind. At the same time, I had other interests I wanted to pursue but simply had no time to.

I felt deeply convinced that taking the time off to recalibrate was what I needed. Or one could simply call it a mid-life crisis.

Not alone

Speaking to an ex-classmate of mine recently made me realise that I wasn't alone in taking such a drastic course of action without much of a safety net.

I spoke to her friend Serene Wu, who was one of those who quit her stable teaching job of 11 years in spite of Covid-19.

The 36-year-old junior college teacher had taken no-pay leave in January last year, but decided to tender her resignation after the circuit breaker lockdown.

The decision was cemented after realising she relished the time she could spend with her two young boys, aged six and four.

"I truly enjoyed the bonding and meaningful conversations we had together," said Wu.

Despite the loss of income putting a dent in their finances, her husband, who's also a teacher, was supportive. She jokingly shared: "We did some financial calculations, because we're both Math teachers, and decided we could still manage."

At the same time, the avid calligrapher also found herself more involved in Love Bonds, a company started by her friend which curates values-based books and magazines for kids.

From simply helping out at the start, Wu eventually became a co-partner of the company — a turn of events she's deeply grateful for.

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She now holds virtual brush calligraphy workshops for parents and kids, a position which allows her to indulge in her passion while also utilising her many years of teaching experience. And it wasn't for the money.

"I felt very strongly that [Love Bonds] is a place that I could contribute, and I could contribute meaningfully to parents. It's something I really enjoyed doing, despite not earning anything at the beginning. And I was working even harder than when I was teaching," said Wu.

“I could easily have gone into tuition, I would definitely earn much more money because it’s lucrative, everybody knows that. But I didn’t," she shared.

Quitting due to Covid-19

And then there are those who quit due to Covid.

Emma (not her real name), 27, decided to resign from her job in the healthcare sector because of the inconveniences brought on by the circuit breaker in April.

Due to lockdown restrictions, it was difficult to find help to care for her daughter, who was six months old then.

The plan had been for her in-laws to commute to her place daily, but "they would have risked exposure while travelling to my house", she explained.

"So for their safety and the rest of the family, I quit."

Money was a major concern for Emma, but her husband was confident that they could cope — their different perspectives Emma attributes to their upbringing.

"I come from a family where both parents worked and reminded us that they had to work hard to raise both my brother and I. But my husband comes from a family whose father was the sole breadwinner to a family of four kids."

In the end, Emma chose to resign, but still has plans to return to work in the future when her child is older.

Professional counsellors and psychologists I spoke to, however, demurred when asked if they saw a significant increase in people quitting without some sort of a backup plan.

But they agreed that the Covid-19 pandemic definitely impacted people's mindsets.

Counsellor Vania Teo said people who quit their jobs fell into two groups — the first was those retrenched who may find themselves unhappy in subsequent jobs they find.

"Sometimes in terms of adaptability, they may not be able to adapt to the new job. So they end up quitting and end up job-hopping to find their footing in other jobs."

However, Teo has observed another group of people "with stable jobs" who ended up quitting as well.

"Perhaps due to Covid-19, there's a sense of uncertainty, they don't really know if their work is what they really want to do," said Teo, adding that stressors from working from home (WFH) may have a part to play.

WFH may also increase "issues about bosses, or even the workload increasing as a result", said Teo.

"People are just basically working more than what they used to, pre-Covid. And I would think it also takes a strain on their mental health."

The impact of WFH on our emotional and mental health is a factor brought up by life coach Daniel Lim.

He observed: "I don't think there has been an uptick of people quitting, but there has been an uptick of people being reflective."

Lim attributes this to the enforced WFH arrangement offering people the space for reflection. But it's not all negative.

"A lot of my clients are thinking they do enjoy working from home because they have the space to think about their lives, and it gets their brain juices flowing about alternative ways to make money."

President of the Singapore Psychological Society, Dr Cherie Chan, offered another similar perspective: "This Covid situation has probably shown us that the norm can be broken or changed, and it could be inspiring for some as it is also scary for others. 

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"Not knowing what's to come may lead to more spur-of-the-moment decisions or the courage needed to make decisions that they may have wanted for a long time to come."

This last point is one I resonate with most. "If not now, then when?" was a question I found myself asking a lot during this period.

I wish I can tell you how my journey ends or that I've figured it all out, but I've really only just begun.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that it's a privilege to be in the position I'm in, thanks to savings I'd shored up (perhaps the true lesson here is that it pays to save, people).

Some friends and acquaintances have also remarked on my "bravery" to take this leap of faith, but there's often a fine line between courage and foolishness. Perhaps it's something only time will tell.

candicecai@asiaone.com