I was terminated last March, during the last month of my pregnancy.
Bago yun, I was already planning on not renewing my contract when it expires on June. Oras na para maghanap ng iba. Stagnant na kasi, career-wise. Still, the news came as a shock. First time ko materminate. In the past, it was always me saying “I quit”. I was reassured that it was not because of my performance but because the institution’s license was revoked and the company needs to let go of the staff one by one. Hindi naman ako yung una, akala ko lang hindi ako masisipa at aabot pa ko hanggang endo ko. If I will look at it from the owner’s perspective, it is a business move. Why keep a staff who is about to go on a maternity leave, come back, then leave again because her working contract is already expired? Besides, everyone will be terminated in the end, una una lang.
When I received my termination letter, my first thought was my health insurance since I was about to give birth (the company assured me they would not cancel my insurance and visa since they are about to expire anyway). Then I felt sad, then angry and betrayed. Sa loob ng ilang taon na pagtratrabaho ko sa kanila at isa ako sa pioneer employees and directly working under the owner, bakit ako? I was handling multiple roles and I have always exceeded their expectations. I was working beyond what is written in my job responsibilities, which I think is normal for most OFWs working overseas. We are good at what we do and often our reward is more work. Kahit hanggang ngayon kapag naalala ko yun, sumasama pa rin loob ko. Pero, that’s OFW life eh. It’s not fair.
Right now I’m working as a Social Media Copywriter for an events management company that is just starting. Mas mababa ang sahod ko compared to my previous job but the main reason why I accepted it is because it’s a work from anywhere job. Besides, if I will look for a job similar to what I was receiving before, it still won’t matter since we would need to pay for a nanny. At least now, I’m the one taking care of my baby.
Before, I feel jealous of those working remotely. Now that I have tried it, it’s not a bed of roses pala. But if there is anything I have learned from my recent termination, is that I could make any job my dream job if I try hard and to remember that no matter what we consider as our “dream job”, at the end of the day, it’s still just a job and we should not compromise what is truly important and what we hold dear.
It’s not easy. Obviously, paano mo ma consider yung current work mo as your dream job if for example sakit sa ulo yung boss mo and colleagues? Pero sa simula diba it was your choice na mag apply sa trabaho mo ngayon? It means you saw something in that job posting that made you want to apply. It could be the pay, the experience, the location, the benefits, etc. Try and remember that to make it easier to deal with the other shortcomings of the job. Kahit ano siguro yung trabaho natin kahit na ito yung passion mo, as soon as you turn it into a living, magkakaroon at magkakaroon ka ng stress, pressure and you might lose your interest in it kasi ang nasa isip mo na is paano ka kikita. Every job has its flaw. You want to be the boss of your own company para hawak mo yung oras mo and you would not have to answer to anybody? Wrong. As the boss of your own company, you still have to answer to your clients and your employees na nakadepende sayo. Even if it is a one man company, you still need to be held accountable not only by your customers but also yourself since you are the sole responsible for making it work. Sa susunod na meron ka urge to look for another job, change your mindset into thinking the job you currently have is your dream job. It will make it tolerable especially if you don’t have the liberty to look for a new one.
When we enjoy our work, we don’t feel like working. Still, we need to be reminded of our work-life balance. Kahit na gaano natin ka gusto yung trabaho natin, hindi ito dapat ang be all and end all of our existence. We should work to make a living, not living to work. Kapag oras na ng pahinga, pahinga na. Yes we became Overseas Filipino Workers to work abroad and earn better salary but what good is this salary if our health is already being compromised? When we are overseas, most of the time we only have to rely on ourselves. Malayo tayo sa mga mahal natin sa buhay at kahit isa sa priorities natin ang kumita ng malaki, hindi pa rin natin dapat kalimutan yung sarili natin. Set it as our number one priority. We have to take care of ourself first so we could take care of others.
Minsan mahirap isiping blessed ka parin dahil may trabaho ka kapag madalas kang mapagalitan ng boss mo or madalas kang mapasahan ng trabaho kahit hindi na parte ito ng job responsibilities mo. But to change our mindset into thinking we are working our dream job, we have to look for the good in every bad situation. Madalas kang mapagalitan ng boss mo? Baka kasi mataas ang expectation niya sa’yo dahil alam niya na you could do better and alam niya na kaya mo kung ano man yung pinapagawa niya. Madalas ka mapasahan ng trabaho? Baka kasi alam nila na ikaw lang ang may kaya nun o baka kasi mas may tiwala sila sa kakayahan mo kaysa sa kakayahan nila. Kahit na sa kanila mapunta ang credit at hindi sa’yo, ikaw pa rin ang naka gain ng experience at hindi sila. Ikaw pa rin ang nadagdagan ang kaalaman at hindi sila. Sooner or later you’d find yourself being thankful because you would be able to go far because of these gained experiences.
As OFWs, madalas tayo mag overthink. Lagi na natin iniisip yung bukas. Ganoon din pagdating sa work natin. Minsan nga yung trabaho natin lagi natin kinoconsider na pansamantala lang kahit naka ilang taon na tayo sa kompanya kasi iniisip natin lagi na hindi ito yung dream job natin or hindi ito ang gusto nating gaming hanapbuhay. Nalilimutan na natin ienjoy yung present kasi panay na ang isip natin about the future. Kaka overthink natin, we end up being overwhelmed na kung minsan, hindi naman problema, nagiging problema tuloy. We are blessed to become OFWs even if we have sacrificed a lot. Why don’t we just stop for a moment, breathe, look around and enjoy where we are at the moment? It might be a pit stop or it might be for a longer stay but just remember we are where we needed to be.
Okay. Nabasa mo na lahat pero parang mahirap parin sundin yung mga payo namin lalo kung talagang may idea ka kung ano yung talagang dream job mo. Ayaw mo mag settle. Pero, ano ba ang ginagawa mo lately para makamit mo kung ano talaga yung gusto mo?
An Overseas Filipino Worker since 2008, Yvette is back in the Middle East after a brief stint in a first world country in South East Asia. She is a binge watcher and is part of numerous fandoms. She writes to keep her sanity (read her rantings on Wattpad @yvette_dc) and is happiest when she's in a bookstore. If given the resources, she would see the world.