SINGAPORE: After hearing some unsettling stories about poor work-life balance in Singapore, a foreigner took to social media to ask locals if there was any truth to these claims.
“Is work/life balance that bad in Singapore? My definition of work/life balance is no work other than 9-5, weekends completely off, 4 weeks a year PTO and ample public holidays. Is it possible in Singapore?” he asked on r/askSingapore.
The foreigner, originally from the US, shared that he had been offered a senior manager position at a major tech multinational corporation (MNC). While the job offer seemed promising, he expressed some concerns about the leave policy.
“It seems quite alright except I will be getting only 15 days of paid-time off (PTO),” he mentioned.
He and his family are set to move to the city-state in a few months and are very excited about the opportunity to live in and experience Singapore.
“I love the culture, diversity of the region, food, Asian values and how everything seems to work over there. Work/life balance thing will be a cherry on the cake. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in advance,” he mentioned.
“It really depends on your team and manager.”
Many locals chimed in to share their experiences and insights about work-life balance in Singapore.
One netizen explained that the work-life balance aspect largely depends on whether the foreigner can set his own boundaries and manage them well. They pointed out that while coworkers might send emails at 11 PM, he really doesn’t have to respond immediately.
Regarding annual leave, the netizen mentioned that 15 days of PTO, or “annual leave” as it is known in Singapore, is quite reasonable. The conventional minimum is 14 days, and most people receive around this amount, although some companies offer up to 18 days.
Another netizen echoed this sentiment and said that work-life balance issues “are simply self-inflicted.” Having been in the workforce for plenty of years, he noticed that those who often complain about such issues tend to struggle with saying no, fail to prioritize their time effectively, and focus on minor details instead of the big picture.
A third netizen, who has experience working in both the US and Singapore, encouraged the foreigner to accept the job offer and work in Singapore. He noted that aside from the possibility of receiving WhatsApp messages past 8 or 9 PM, working in Singapore is generally a great experience.
He said, “The nice thing about SG is the weekend trips and our ability to work pretty much anywhere in Asia took the sting off a somewhat lower amount of PTO.
Also realize SG has 11 official holidays (each main religion/faith has their set) and Chinese New Year gets pretty quiet.It was great to jump on a plane to Bangkok or KL on a Thursday night, work from the other city Friday and then have Friday night and the weekend to myself.”
Still, there were others who warned him to reconsider the offer if the company is a “China MNC rather than a US MNC.”
One netizen commented, “There are horror stories about China MNCs pushing their 9-9-6 working culture even in Singapore.
Generally though, the worst horror stories come from tiny owner run companies coupled with a conflict avoidant workforce that has real difficulties saying no.”
Featured image by Depositphotos