SINGAPORE: Can a person’s educational background shape their behaviour when they join the workforce? One Singaporean Junior College senior says he’s convinced that Junior College (JC) and Polytechnic graduates act differently in office settings.
He shared his observations with a junior at work, who subsequently posted them on social media. According to the senior, his experience has shown that polytechnic graduates are “more cunning and willing to backstab others” to advance their careers.
He felt this behaviour was markedly different from what he observed in his fellow JC graduates. His junior then asked others on social media whether this stereotype holds true or if it’s an unfair generalization.
“I refuse to believe this is true. Surely there are good and bad apples. For those who have working experience with people from both backgrounds, can you share if you find that the above is generally true and why, or is it the opposite?”
“Your senior formed a biased opinion based on his limited experience with a few bad individuals.”
The comments section was quickly filled with various opinions, sparking a lively debate. Some netizens agreed with the man’s perspective, sharing their experiences where they felt polytechnic graduates were more competitive and aggressive in office settings.
According to one netizen’s experience, poly graduates frequently prioritize conforming to friends and being popular, which can lead to more competitive and backstabbing behaviour at work to advance.
He added, “It’s poly culture when they are adolescent they are exposed to, and they also place importance on experiencing stuffs firsthand, be it superficially and for the sake of documenting experience.
Feels like a “been there seen there hence I’m more experienced, better, street smart” attitude sometimes.”
Another echoed this sentiment, saying, “What your senior says is generally true. The school environment in poly and JC is starkly different. Poly is more like a popularity contest. If you have done NS you will also see the differences between poly students and JC students.”
Meanwhile, others disagreed with this view and said that the differences in behaviour are more about individual personalities than educational backgrounds. They argued that attributing such traits solely to poly grads was unfair and overly simplistic.
One netizen explained, “Your senior formed a biased opinion based on his limited experience with a few bad individuals, leading him to unfairly judge the entire population.”
Another commented, “This entire question is messed up. What ever happened to not generalizing/profiling, and judging individuals as individuals? Is the state of ethics and morals in SG really this bad?”
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