SINGAPORE: A Singaporean worker has found herself caught in a tough career dilemma after her former employer reached out with an unexpected offer of a promotion and higher pay.
In a post shared on r/singaporejobs, the worker explained that she left her previous company about two months ago. Recently, however, the company contacted her and asked if she would consider returning, citing difficulties within the team since her departure.
According to her, most of the remaining staff are relatively new and struggling to cope with the workload.
She added that sources within the company told her that with her gone, “everything slowed down, and customers have been complaining a lot.”
“Two of them couldn’t keep up with my 1-man show,” she said.
Despite this, she admitted that she genuinely enjoyed the work at her old company. She was familiar with the systems, understood the processes inside out, and got along well with her colleagues, whom she described as “great and supportive”.
Still, she has been hesitant to accept the offer because of the intense demands that come with the role.
“The moment I arrive at my desk, people start calling me and asking questions. Sometimes it’s about another person’s job that I don’t even know about. And over time, I don’t get much of a social life,” she wrote.
“I do have one, but when I’m out, I will occasionally look at my phone to check for updates or new urgent emails. Sometimes the head of department is a bit of an oaf, but he doesn’t bother much with me.”
By contrast, her current job offers a healthier work-life balance. She does not need to work overtime and has more time for herself, although the tradeoff is a slightly lower salary.
Unsure which path to choose, the worker turned to local Reddit users for advice, asking whether the promotion and pay bump were worth returning to a demanding environment, or if she should stay put in her current role. “Should I go back?” she asked.
“Why go back to a dysfunctional company?”
In the discussion thread, many users urged her to seriously consider taking up the offer, though most stressed that she should only do so if she negotiated for significantly better terms.
One wrote, “If they desperately want you back, it means you are very important, and you will be able to milk the opportunity. Ask for a higher appointment and a higher salary increase.”
“A higher appointment means the heads won’t be able to interfere with you as much, or they will think twice about being an oaf, and higher pay because you know you’re going to be managing all of them like a babysitter.”
Another echoed similar sentiments, advising her to be bold during negotiations.
“Ask for a promotion and ask what the salary range is for this position. It may be way more than 50 to 75 per cent. Make sure there’s no overtime to make up the money. Don’t forget, you like having more time on your hands.”
However, not everyone agreed that returning was a good idea. Others warned that going back to the same environment could quickly lead to burnout.
One commented, “Why go back to a dysfunctional company where they ask you about another person’s job? That already shows the company is very disorganised and not well run. It would probably be exhausting in the long run.”
Another agreed, saying, “My view is don’t go back. Yes, they need you now, but what if they stabilize?”
“Knowing that you are willing to leave and not stay ‘loyal’ to them since there’s a precedent, they will probably ask you to train your replacement and then make you leave by piling more work and overtime on you to push you out. Just stay with the current company.”
In other news, a female engineering student took to social media to share that an interviewer had undermined her abilities and implied she was less capable simply because she is a woman.
In a post on r/AskSingapore titled “Interviewer being rude, is that normal?”, the woman explained that she was attending her first internship interviews with various companies when she encountered “a rude interviewer.”
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