Singapore is suffering from a serious case of brain drain. I suspect so does India and maybe China. I don't find UK or US having the same problem.I would like to suggest a possible reason: the grass is greener on the other side, maybe this time it is really true because people are actually staying there! I won't talk about the socio-political aspect, but just work culture.
I work in an multinational company and had the opportunity to work in the same company overseas. Let me tell you, it doesn't feel like the same company. In Singapore, I feel like I am reduced to a machine in a production line.
In Singapore, we 'make babies', 'are forced to retire', and 'get workfare'. In another country, we 'have a child', 'dream of early retirement', and 'receive welfare'. Too bad I am not "talented" enough to "leak".
2 comments:
I beg to differ. The saying of "The Grass is Greener on the Other Side" is not always true. If you have been overseas much and walked on the pastures, you will know what I am talking about. From far, the grass looks beauifully green, but when u walk on it, you'll notice that it's FULL OF SHIT!
Many of my friends have stayed in the UK after they graduated, some have ventured to the Big Apple, and they came back after a year or two. Why? Cos the life there is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Regardless of how you want to think or feel, we don't belong there. There is never a feeling of HOME there. No matter how much u want to mix around with the people there, we are of a different 'frequency'. Utimately, one will feel LONELY. This is the thing that drives most ppl crazy. Most of these people who talk about going outta Singapore to work and stuff, never really seen the true side of the place. Even when you go to a certain place on holiday, the impression we have of the place is different if we live there.
Even if we change our mindset of things like shops closing at 5pm, no night life other than clubbing and pubbing, not being able to buy local food, expensive things, high taxation, etc, we have to battle the racial discrimination there, even though it's considered a 'crime' there. We cannot run away from this brutal truth.
This was one of the main reasons I chose to come back to Singapore.
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