SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user who vented about the miseries of working in their particular government job wanted to know if anyone else out there is experiencing the same thing.
In a post on r/askSingapore on Thursday (July 17), u/bigDolphin1357, wondered if they’re just unlucky in their job.
Part of the problem is that most of the people at work are in their 50s, and the few young ones “backstab each other because we’re each other’s only competition.”
Adding to the misery is rampant gossip “because there’s too little work, and people have to fight for it,” and the post author claimed they are busy but openly play games on their phones.
“Information is prized and used as social currency, or if it’s yours, it’s weaponised against you. As a result, I don’t have a single friend here, and I trust no one in my department,” they added.
The post author’s salary is also substantially smaller than their friends working in the private sector, and they asked why they’re working for such little pay, “when everything goes to scholars?”
They’d like to quit their job but can’t afford it.
One popular comment on the post described the post author’s job as an “Iron bowl but on boiling water.”
“Iron rice bowl” refers to work that has guaranteed security, which is often public sector or government jobs with secure and stable income. The phrase comes from a Chinese idiom, “tie fan wan” (铁饭碗), referring to a now-abolished system of lifetime work in China.
“I have worked in three different gov’t agencies, and every single agency has really burned me out mentally and physically. If you are pushing for promotion, then you should avoid the rat race.
If you wish to have higher earnings, then you should leave as soon as possible. The reason is that your portfolio may not be as attractive compared to those who are already in the private sector.
It is your call. I also wish I could shake a leg, but I see more people resigning due to the workload. Iron bowl but on boiling water,” the commenter wrote.
Others also expressed they were surprised that the post author had written that there’s not enough work to keep people busy at the post author’s work, since most government employees they know experience the opposite and are overworked.
“What agency is that? Over at my place, we’re worked to the bone,” a commenter noted.
“It sounds like a localised issue. I assure you, there are other parts of the gov’t where the work is overflowing,” another added.
Others offered the post author advice.
“There are no friends at the workplace because everyone has a conflict of interest. I think you can consider an internal transfer or continue job hunting in private. Meanwhile, continue to upskill yourself,” one advised them.
“Why don’t you just jump to another government sector like you said? Private sector may not necessarily be better btw… It could be even more competitive, and you can easily be retrenched, and office politics is everywhere, no matter where you go, so you won’t be able to avoid that,” another wrote.
“Ask for a transfer out, but be prepared to be overworked elsewhere; I never had a lack of work to do while in civil service,” said a Reddit user.
One who had a similar experience and could relate to the post author wrote that the young people they used to work with, “those in their mid to late twenties, like you said, are very susceptible to politics and still kinda childish. They have trouble regulating their emotions to stay professional.
IMO, millennials kinda hit the sweet spot, like those from their 30s onwards, because they have some work experience and are not too traditional-minded like the boomer generation. Best to identify your tribe and stick with them.
But maaan, I feel you, I too wish I could be like my cousins or friends in a corporate or NGO setting aligned with their passions and having a better work-life balance.
All the best, man, comes down to luck at this point!” /TISG
Read also: No longer an iron rice bowl? Is public service losing its appeal to the new generation?
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