Between good pay and happiness at work, which one will you opt for? Some people are motivated by the lucrative pay regardless of the amount of hectic working time, while some cannot function without being happy.

The Instagram page of malaysianpaygap recently shared the story of a former Malaysian lawyer who prioritised mental health over the good pay that she was offered prior to her resignation. Her last drawn salary was RM5,000 as a lawyer in a mid-sized firm. While that amount of wages may seem a lot to some, it was the work behind the scene that prompted her to leave.

“Absolutely no work-life balance. I always went home around 11pm-2am, and I had to be back to the office by 9am.”

Work all day, err day

Work performance and high expectations also contributed to her stress as her partners would promise “the moon and the stars” to the clients, and they were expected to deliver. For that, she had to work on weekends due to her anxiety about the pending work.

“If we couldn’t deliver, we would get yelled at. At one point, I considered going to therapy.”

When she knew that things had reached her breaking point, she tendered her resignation letter. Her superiors, however, tried to keep her with the offer of a double increment and 3 months of performance bonus. But none of those mattered anymore.

“I left anyway. My mental health is more important.”

Life is so much better now, but… PTSD

She made a leap of faith by jumping into the banking industry following her resignation, and now, she’s an assistant manager in the legal department of one of the banks. But is she happier?

“Life has been super great. My salary is RM6,500.”

In terms of work-life balance, she definitely gets all that she ever hoped for. She leaves work on time as her superior does the same, and on weekends, she does not need to think about work. Not only that but her superior will also take charge of the things which she has no experience in handling.

She can also bid farewell to the yelling culture, but something from the past continues to haunt her.

“I still suffer from PTSD from my previous workplace, but I am recovering.”

At the end of her post, she stated that despite her love of being a lawyer, love itself will not help her any further in terms of mental health.

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A post shared by Goodbye Wage Taboo (@malaysianpaygap)

Surprisingly, some netizens in the comment sections found themselves resonating with her situation and voiced their support for her action to leave her previous workplace.

Fellow Malaysians, we’re no strangers to toxic work culture and the lack of exposure to the importance of mental health in the workplace. Mental health is equally important but unfortunately, there is still no safe haven for mental health. Do you find yourself resonating with her experience?

Also read: M’sian Tells Boss That She’s Taking Leave To Go To Temple & Pray For A BF, Boss Says Go Ahead