SINGAPORE: What happens when a Singapore mum dares to juggle a career and motherhood with a little help from a work-from-home (WFH) arrangement? Apparently… she gets laid off!
That’s the jaw-dropping revelation from @sue.subir on TikTok, who shared how her already stressful life as a mother of two young children turned downright dystopian — all because she asked to continue working remotely after her family was rocked by a car accident.
@sue.subir Returning to the workforce after 5 years as a stay-at-home mum hasn’t been easy. With an 11-month-old baby and a 4-year-old, every day is a balancing act. Last few weeks, my family went through an unexpected CAR ACCIDENT — car crashed.. even my helper was badly injured. With no one to care for my children, I requested an extension of work-from-home. This arrangement was already stated in my Letter of Appointment and had been approved before. Yet, I was laid off for “taking advantage,” when in reality I was still fulfilling my responsibilities remotely. The accident was beyond my control, and I continued to work from home — not “doing nothing.” It’s disheartening to see how little empathy there can be for working mums with young kids in Singapore. All I wanted was to earn extra income for my family while navigating these challenges. To all the mums out there facing similar struggles: you are not alone. 💪
“I got laid off just because I requested to work from home,” were the very words she began her story with.
“I was laid off for ‘taking advantage’…”
After spending five years as a stay-at-home mum, Sue was finally easing back into the workforce with her 11-month-old and 4-year-old in tow — no easy feat in itself. And then, to make matters worse, disaster struck.
“My family went through an unexpected CAR ACCIDENT — car crashed… even my helper was badly injured,” she continued.
Suddenly, her childcare support system also vanished. So, like any rational working parent, she requested an extension of her work-from-home arrangement — one that, according to Sue, was already stated in her Letter of Appointment and had been approved previously.
However, her employer didn’t just say no, as far as we understand from Sue’s explanations. They allegedly fired her instead. She was accused of “taking advantage” of the WFH policy.
“I continued to work from home — not ‘doing nothing’…”
“I was still fulfilling my responsibilities remotely,” Sue clarified. “The accident was beyond my control, and I continued to work from home — not ‘doing nothing.’”
Sue clearly meant that last part to shut down any assumptions that she was slacking off. Indeed, caring for two young kids and working remotely is hardly a vacation.
“It’s disheartening to see how little empathy there can be for working mums with young kids in Singapore,” she expressed her disappointment. “All I wanted was to earn extra income for my family while navigating these challenges.”
“My boss forced me to get a helper so I could focus on my work and not my kid…”
Sue’s story sparked a flurry of relatable rage and reality checks in the comments section on Reddit.
One commenter said, “I believe her. I recently worked for a small 3-4 person startup. During the job interview, they were super nice and agreed to give me work flexibility. But three months down, I’m getting screamed at by my boss who basically forced me to get a helper so I could focus on my work and not my kid.”
Another said she was laid off after informing her company she was pregnant. “Mothers and pregnant women are treated so badly… no wonder birth rate is what it is,” she wrote.
And others pointed out the harsh truth that: “Making your management realise that your work can be done remotely means a foreigner can work on it from their home country for a much cheaper monthly fee.”
“What’s the full story?”
Despite the emotional support from other mums, not everyone is buying Sue’s story at face value.
“There is definitely missing information not provided here,” one sceptic forum member stated, while another suspiciously asked, “Laid off due to WFH or laid off due to incompetence and work ethic issue? What’s the full story?”
Still, whether it’s the whole story or just part of it, the conversation it has sparked is very real — about family, flexibility, and the fine print of fairness in today’s post-COVID working world.
“You are not alone…”
With everything that has happened and considered, Sue ended her post with a message of solidarity: “To all the mums out there facing similar struggles: You are not alone.”
In a society constantly chasing productivity, perhaps it’s also time to remember that empathy isn’t a liability — it’s actually a valuable leadership trait.
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