Man in corporate job dreams of doing menial work instead; wants to work in ‘autonomous & stress-free environment’

SINGAPORE: A 24-year-old male Reddit user who works in the corporate world by day and as a food delivery rider after hours wrote that he “dreams of transitioning to menial jobs” after his contract ends in three months.

u/Due_Assistance5380 wrote on r/AskSingapore that he currently has an entry-level marketing role where the “working environment is great” but he’s come to the “realisation that I value working in an autonomous and stress-free environment. This evolution came from the fact that I’ve been working as a food delivery rider after office hours and weekends. Never did I expect myself to look forward to work during the evenings and on weekends as a food delivery rider, I mainly enjoy the role simply because of how ‘free; I feel, I do not have to attend meetings nor do I have deadlines to meet. I feel so happy and at ease every time I helmed my alternate work identity.”

He has concerns, however, that his girlfriend, also 24, will graduate soon and will be working as an assistant manager. Although she has been supportive of him, he writes, “ she is still young and I am confident her mindset will never be permanent. As she climbs the corporate ladder, she’s bound to meet very capable folks and clients… I on the other hand, have no ambition in climbing the ladder.”

He describes where he’s at right now as being at crossroads between wanting a secure a stable life in the corporate world but adds that “the other side of me just wants to work in menial jobs that are not so mentally taxing.”

The post author added that his salary isn’t that high at the moment. “I bring in only mid 2k (GROSS) my gig jobs helps to supplement my income by about 1k.

After some rough calculations, i find that even on ‘low effort’ days, i can earn the same if not more than my corporate job, which is honestly enticing. I do recognise that the income is stagnant with gig jobs, however i only plan to do this for a short term, 3 years max at best.”

Commenters on his post tried to help the young man gain some perspective, with many discouraging him from giving up his office job.

“You might be able to make that pay cheque worth now, but as time goes on, you’ll have to make do with much, much less,” wrote one.

A netizen who’s done blue-collar jobs wrote this, “I’ve worked menial labour jobs, skilled trades jobs, and office jobs. The mental load was lowest at the office jobs by far. The idea that blue collar workers or service workers are mindless drones is a pure fantasy of white collar workers.”

“My suggestion is to persevere for a few more years to give it a good try and build a safety net. And also see how your family situation goes. In parallel, you can plan your future job and make the move when you are ready,” another wrote.

Others could sympathize, but added a caveat, “I had this mindset because I was too bored at a corporate job, but I realised people in manual jobs hope to sit comfortably in office earning a higher effective pay/hour and not exposed to weather and traffic risk. then I just suck it up and do it for the money and comfort.”

/TISG

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