SINGAPORE: An intern recently shared her awful experience online, saying she ended up going to work despite being severely sick because the HR in her company had been upset when she took medical leave before.
“When I took MC the previous time, she kept rolling eyes at me and just giving me very uncomfortable stares,” the intern wrote on r/SGexams, a Reddit forum. “So I went to work super sick and was really shivering because the aircon was so cold and I literally already looked like I was dying.”
None of the adults in the office appeared to care about her condition. “Only my other intern friend was concerned for me and kept checking on my temperature and holding my hand to keep me warm,” she explained.
The most frustrating part, she said, was that the HR personnel got mad when she requested to leave early.“I’m just wondering: Is this what I have to step on in the future?” she asked. “Is this how Singapore workforce really is?”
She also mentioned that the HR personnel seemed to “hate her a lot” and viewed all interns as “lazy and untrustworthy.” She felt this was unfair, especially since she was performing well and wasn’t even in HR’s department.
“I did my work assigned to me just fine, and she should be the last one to call me lazy or not trustworthy,” she said. “Also, this company stresses me so much that my period started becoming irregular and I started having insomnia. With the lack of sleep and crazy work hours, I don’t know if I’ll even survive till the end of intern.”
“Next time when you go out to work, remember, they’re your colleagues, not your friends.”
In the discussion thread, many Singaporean Redditors shared that they have also experienced this, more commonly in SMEs, and attested that this was how corporate life works.
One Redditor gave her advice, writing, “Next time when you go out to work, remember, they’re your colleagues, not your friends, and definitely not your family. This is not school where you and your friends work hard together and achieve together; this is the workforce where promotions and bonuses are on the line.”
Another commented, “This is unfortunately how cruel the world is. You will never be able to satisfy everyone, so pick and choose the ones you truly care about, and don’t care about the rest.”
Others, however, took a different stance and thought that the intern was still immature.
One Redditor explained that in a professional environment, adults are expected to take responsibility for themselves, which includes knowing when to take medical leave if they’re unwell rather than pushing themselves to come to work and expecting others to “coddle them.”
He added, “You are also getting work experience now, and work experience also includes dealing with people like that HR staff. Gossipmongers, incompetent workers, taichi masters—these are all people that you will eventually encounter, and learning how to deal with them in a civilized manner is a huge part of working experience.
“You’ve experienced firsthand how little your organization cares for your well-being. Only you can prioritize yourself.”
In related news, a Singaporean worker sought help on social media after the company he had been working with for six months refused to pay for his four days of medical leave.
“As per the employee handbook and MOM law, I am eligible for paid MC/hospitalization leave after 3 months of continued service, even though I am under 6 months of probation,” he clarified.
The worker went on to explain that when he raised this issue with HR, they simply told him that “it’s common practice for employees not to get paid MC during probation.”
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)