Only S$8–10 for weekend OT? Fresh grad considers resigning after only 2 months in toxic job

SINGAPORE: Just two months into his first job, a fresh graduate is already weighing the idea of resigning, as the work environment has been so toxic that ‘he’s not sure he can hold out any longer.’

Posting his ordeal on the r/CareersSingapore subreddit, he shared that the experience so far has been nothing short of draining. Not only does he feel the environment “sucks,” but he also struggles to connect with a colleague and finds his senior manager “really one of a kind”—and not in a good way.

Adding to his frustrations, he said that management expects him to work overtime on weekends, but the pay for those extra hours is only S$8 to $10 an hour. 

What complicates matters further is his probation. With four months left before it ends, he admitted he feels torn. On one hand, sticking it out would make his résumé look more stable and give him time to job hunt in peace. On the other, the stress is already taking a toll on his mental health.

“This job has been stressing me out a lot,” he wrote. “The only reason I took it was because the job market is terrible right now, so beggars can’t be choosers. Plus, I needed the money to save up for a BTO and wedding. But now that I’ve recently broken up with my girlfriend, the motivation to stay is no longer there.”

Feeling uncertain about how to move forward, he asked locals for guidance, adding, “Any advice would be much appreciated. I’m considering looking for other jobs now, but I’ve been told to wait until probation ends before I start applying.”

“Forcing yourself to stay will only do more harm than good, mentally or physically.”

In the thread, one user cautioned that resigning without securing another position could be risky, as employers tend to view fresh graduates who leave after only a couple of months as unreliable.

“If I’m the interviewer, and I see (1) a fresh grad; (2) leaving after only two months, I won’t bother touching you with a ten-foot pole,” they wrote. “Also, it’s a difficult job market, with a new trend of ‘job hugging’ (the opposite of job hopping). My advice is to only resign if you have already secured another position.”

Another user, however, suggested that the fresh graduate could choose not to include this job on their resume to prevent it from raising any concerns with future employers.

“You can omit this job from your resume and/or explain that the job does not align with your values or use whatever excuse you want,” they said.

“While the job market is bad, if you are still young and have good security at home (parents paying/cooking bills), you can decide whether you want to resign without a job. At the end of the day, it’s about how bad the job is for you. If you cannot take it anymore, forcing yourself to stay will only do more harm than good, mentally or physically.”

A third user, who also happens to be a fresh grad, chimed in to share their experience: “I also omitted my previous job when applying, but be prepared to be asked what you’ve been doing. I have no advice on this; some people say be honest, but I’m a firm believer that honesty shouldn’t be exercised in all instances.”

“I just said I graduated in an off-cycle period, so I strategically started applying recently, and during the period when I wasn’t actively applying, I worked part-time elsewhere.”

In other news, a father who’s close to retirement has allegedly threatened to sue his son under the Maintenance of Parents Act after being denied an allowance.

The son, clearly upset by the situation, took to social media on Thursday (Sept 4) to ask if his father, who he claims is addicted to gambling, could legally “demand” money from him.

For context, the son wrote on the r/askSingapore forum that his father “has zero savings” left because he had blown everything on 4D and TOTO over the years.

Read more: Gambling father who lost all savings to 4D and TOTO allegedly threatens to sue son for allowance