People of TAL

Madeline Oh

Manager, Customer and Case Management

TAFEP

When I first graduated, I worked in the banking industry before switching to corporate insurance for a couple of years. However, it was not what I wanted - chasing sales figures was not my thing! My passion has always been about helping people, lending a listening ear to their issues, and hoping that I can make an impact to their lives.

This call led me to join the Ministry of Manpower. I worked in different departments such as Customer Responsiveness Department and Foreign Manpower Management Division, including a short deployment in inspections and investigations work. The common thread in these jobs was being able to help others. It was no accident that most of my work was customer service related which included triaging queries and assessing how to help the public and escalate their issues when required. 

Wanting to help more people at their workplaces, I joined TAFEP in 2019. My previous work experience and knowledge enabled me to transit smoothly in my role. Two years into the job, I still find my work interesting. It can also be challenging at times, as emotions run high during disputes. I help those who approach TAFEP by being their listening ear and empathising with their situations. This helps them to open up and be open to advice and suggestions.

I remember a case when I was just six months into the job. The person was hesitant to share the cause of his grievance at work. I started by talking about non-related matters and focused on how he was doing. After a while, he became more at ease and opened up to me about his experience. With that, I managed to speak to his management, and they eventually resolved the issue amicably. He moved on from the incident and thanked me for my help. I felt so happy for him. It is moments like these that make all my efforts worthwhile.

Not all cases have happy outcomes. There are some cases where affected individuals refuse to share any information with us, which in turn means that we cannot help them very much. As emotions run high, it can also be stressful trying to manage the emotions of the other persons and not let them get you down. Thankfully, I have the perfect stress relievers, my cats! My cats are always there for me. I will talk to them about my stress at work, and that makes me feel better. I can then face a new day, ready to help more people. Being passionate about my work also helps to keep me going. I hope I will be able to continue to help others for many years to come.