Man says he felt ‘liberated’ after being laid off from advertising job, claims toxic work culture left peers sick from stress

SINGAPORE: Being laid off is usually a stressful and difficult experience. One 34-year-old Singaporean man, however, said he felt unexpectedly “liberated” after leaving his advertising role.

Sharing his story in the comments section of a viral Reddit post titled “I used to earn 20K a month as a VP. Now working night shift at a warehouse for 2K,” the man explained that while he certainly needed employment—especially with a second child on the way—he had also grown weary of the relentless grind and meaningless targets in the industry. “I was so, so sick of chasing silly numbers,” he wrote.

According to him, the toxic work culture in advertising had taken a serious toll on many employees, including himself. He recalled that leaving work on time was often frowned upon. “Sometimes when you leave on the dot at 6 p.m., people will shout across the room, ‘Wah, today half day ah?’” he wrote. “It’s as if longer hours are being worn as badges.”

He also shared that he knew several people who had developed health problems due to the stressful nature of the job. “[One of them] had a mild heart attack,” he said, adding that another university friend who had also joined the advertising industry “had cancer and passed away at the age of 27.” “You could tell that she was getting unhealthy day after day in the industry with all the stress and irregular habits. And she picked up smoking along the way,” he recounted.

Despite the difficult circumstances, including the fact that his wife was also laid off recently, the man shared that he remains optimistic. “All is good as long as my family is healthy and happy,” he said. “We do have savings and are ready to downsize if need be. And I’m looking to transition into healthcare in hopes of more security and a longer career runway. Prepared for a pay cut for sure. And I just applied for my PDVL just to make sure I can keep the groceries and bills paid.”

“Advertising as a whole is horrible at the moment.”

His story struck a chord with several users online, particularly those who had endured similar pressures in the advertising industry. One wrote, “Advertising abuses people by exploiting their passion. Twenty-seven-hour days, undercutting, lip-service wokeness—these contribute to a toxic environment that harms rather than nourishes.”

Another commented, “Thank you for sharing. I went through a very, very similar situation 20 years ago, and I was the same age then as you are now. My wife and I both lost our jobs, our third kid was on the way… reading your story really takes me back to those days.”

He continued, “But I didn’t stay there. We had our child in faith, and I was later led to start a business after a chance encounter with an army friend and two of his associates. In the following 10 years, our company flourished to the point where we had 3,000 employees. We eventually sold the company, and I stepped into full retirement.”

A third user added, “Advertising as a whole is horrible at the moment. Maybe it’s a good thing that you both got laid off. That industry isn’t good for starting a family—you’ll miss too much.”

In other news, a woman has triggered a discussion on the r/askSingapore forum after claiming that her company terminated her while she was on sabbatical leave. In her post, she explained that she received the email about her termination the day after she informed the newly hired supervisor that she was five months pregnant.

Read more:  ‘Is this even legal?’: Woman on sabbatical terminated by company after learning she was pregnant