Don't you think that if you are holding on to a single event to somehow make you happy then there are very big warning signs out? Each year it is the same - "Yeah if we get X% pay rise and Y weeks bonus then that'll make this all worth it." No, it really won't. I've been out of EK for 8 months. It took me 5-6 months to develop a good sleeping pattern again. God knows what over 7 years working the way I did in that place has done to my long term health. But the simple fact is X + Y does not = 'worth it.'
The irony is many pilots speak exactly the same way about working at EK as battered housewives do that are in abusive marriages. But still they stay, thinking it'll get better.