MM, to be fair some did not leave because of dissatisfaction with conditions, but because they’d had enough of HK’s insane Covid restrictions. Others were non-
PR holders on bases and let go.
Some indeed left due to POS18 conditions, tried jobs abroad and found it was just a different shade of brown in the end, leading to them returning ironically more content than before (also because objectively COS18 has somewhat improved).
Would I recommend a career here for a younger person? Absolutely not: all is policy, no guarantees or security, eye-wateringly expensive rents, no way to build a life or start a family. They cynically ripped up our contracts and our few certainties, rapaciously decimating our package. They
will do it again at the next crisis.
But for an oldie looking to rejoin (after experiencing some of the crap contracts and companies out there) and do a few years at say CN3 or 4, why not. It will work for some.
In truth the entire profession is going down the drain worldwide, and it can feel like a game of frogger, jumping from log to sinking log (and sometimes the “log” is not a log)