SGAG’s Xiao Ming Broke Down In Tears When A Colleague Offered To Go Without Pay For 3 Months During The Circuit Breaker

As SGAG's head honcho, Xiao Ming is responsible for the livelihoods of a lot of people — he has 70 employees in Singapore alone — and all that pressure came bearing down on his shoulders when Singapore entered the Circuit Breaker period in April 2020.

“A lot of things went through my mind before the Circuit Breaker. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to still have all our employees with us after it ended. I was very stressed but there was no way for me to solve the problem because I didn’t know what would happen," Xiao Ming recalled.

“I remember I had to make a phone call to someone who we signed an [employment] contract with. The person was a work pass holder who had quit his job to join SGAG so we were very worried that we couldn’t hire him if our business wasn’t doing well. I had to call this person and tell him, ‘I’m really sorry but we can’t have you in the company.’ It was the most difficult phone call I’ve made.”

Xiao Ming’s concerns were clearly picked up by his team, with one person offering to make a huge sacrifice.

“During the Circuit Breaker, a colleague told me one evening: ‘Xiao Ming, I know that you’re facing a very difficult situation. I’d like to help the company. You don’t have to pay me for the next three months and I’ll do my best to help the company'," he shared.

"After I heard that, I started crying. I was really touched and said, ‘Thank you. The company is still doing okay, and we’re just worried.’”

Xiao Ming, who said he “rarely cries in the office”, couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down his face but felt that it was the push he needed to soldier on.

“It was a turning point for me and I told myself that I’d have to live with the Circuit Breaker and not to get too emotional over it. We’d focus on what was in our control,” he said.

Fortunately for him and the team, SGAG’s business wasn’t too badly affected by the CB and Xiao Ming was happy to report that not a single employee quit during that tough period.

Catch the rest of Xiao Ming's interview on Hear U Out on meWATCH. Click here to watch Part 1 and here to watch Part 2.

Here's the video for Part 1 of Xiao Ming's interview on Hear U Out: And here's Part 2: Photos: Adrian Ang/Instagram, SGAG, Mediacorp