‘Am I a strawberry for complaining?’: Young worker earning S$4k says he works overtime, on weekends, and is expected to ‘be responsive 24/7’

SINGAPORE: Younger workers often get slapped with the label “strawberry generation” the moment they raise their concerns.

“They’re too soft to handle any pressure,” some would say.

But let’s be real: Can we really blame them for pushing back when some bosses seem bent on stealing every scrap of their work-life balance?

Take one young Singaporean tech worker, for example. He shared on social media that, on top of working overtime and “every other weekend,” he is also expected to remain responsive 24/7.

After reading his story, one of The Independent Singapore’s users responded: “You should be thankful you are in Singapore and employed! Stop complaining like a spoilt brat!”

Unfortunately, the man felt no such gratitude, only despair and mounting stress.

Burnt out by his overwhelming workload, he admitted that the thought of continuing to work like this “for decades” leaves him feeling “hopeless.”

Detailing his daily routine, he added: “I start my commute to work at 8 am and return home between 8 and 10 pm; on occasion, it can be even later,” he said. “I am expected to be responsive 24/7. The only reprieve I get is when I am overseas on holiday.”

“Is working life supposed to be this hard?” he wondered. “After CPF, I take home around S$4,000, which I know is a decent salary, so I wonder if I am being too strawberry by complaining?”

The Strawberry Generation

The term “Strawberry generation” originally came from Taiwan, where it referred to people born in the mid-1980s to 1990s, primarily millennials. Over time, the label has expanded to include Gen Z in other parts of the world.

The metaphor comes from strawberries, which bruise easily under pressure. 

According to Gradsimple, people in this generation are often criticised as less hardworking (compared to their parents), spoilt, emotionally fragile, arrogant, selfish, and highly individualistic.

And to be fair, there are cases where this criticism holds some truth. Some do struggle when faced with adversity and pressure.

However, it’s also worth asking why. In many instances, the pressure they face is just plain unreasonable.

Take the man mentioned earlier, whose life appears to revolve entirely around work, leaving little room for rest or recovery.

People in situations like his should be encouraged to speak up and challenge the status quo. 

Work-life balance should be prioritised, not brushed aside. We should not be normalising 12-hour workdays, working through weekends, or feeling obligated to respond to emails outside official working hours.

Because it’s not just mentally draining. Prolonged overwork takes a serious toll on physical health, too.

Adverse effects of long working hours

A research titled “Are Long Workhours a Health Risk?” by Mikko Ilmari Härmä, MD, PhD, and research professor, revealed that working long hours can have serious negative effects on health.

In particular, it is linked to cardiovascular disease, disability retirement, subjectively measured poor health, and fatigue.

Another study, which was published in the National Library of Medicine in 2019, disclosed that working more than 61 hours per week increases the risk of elevated systolic blood pressure.

Its findings also showed that excessive working can encourage unhealthy lifestyle habits, including smoking, alcohol consumption, and lack of physical activity.

Moreover, in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) released a report that states 488 million people around the world work long hours, and that more than 745,000 passed away in 2016 from heart disease and stroke related to working more than 55 hours a week.

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