SINGAPORE: A Singaporean worker has regretted leaving his job at a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) after realizing that working for a multinational corporation (MNC) has only brought him overwhelming stress.
In his post on r/SingaporeRaw, he shared that the work environment at the MNC is much more strict than his previous job.
“I noticed the difference is that MNC are very focused on systems and SOP. While SME are more laxed in that,” he wrote.
For instance, he noted that in SME, he could arrive up to half an hour late without facing any issues as long as his work was completed. There were no repercussions for occasional lateness.
In contrast, at the MNC, he must clock in precisely on time—no exceptions—or risk losing his performance bonus. He also mentioned that his work now demands detailed reporting for everything.
Moreover, even though he has the skills to handle certain tasks, he’s not allowed to do them “if they fall outside his job scope.” Instead, he has to wait for external contractors to handle those tasks.
“It’s really testing patience,” he expressed.
Another example he shared was about the company’s rule that bans passenger cars and motorcycles from the worksite, allowing only company vans or lorries equipped with yellow beacon lights.
According to him, this rule has been violated many times because of a shortage of company vans.
“A lot of people just use passenger cars regardless due to the lack of available commercial vehicle, they just attach a battery powered or car cigarette lighter powered yellow beacon light on the roof.”
Feeling frustrated with all the company regulations, he decided to take a stand with some malicious compliance. One day, when he needed to get on site, there were no company lorries, pickups, or vans available—only sedans.
So he told them it wasn’t possible to get in without a commercial vehicle.
He explained to them, “If you cannot wait, call the deployment and section in charge and ask them to rectify [the rule]. The site foreman… says other people all use sedan cars. But I told them SOP must be followed.”
In the end, his act of malicious compliance didn’t lead to any significant changes. He said, “There are still not enough commercial vehicles. But they brought in 1 additional sedan LOL.”
“Having worked in both, would take the MNC anytime.”
In the comments section, numerous Redditors disagreed with the Singaporean worker, saying that despite all the strict rules and regulations at MNCs, they would still prefer working there.
One Redditor said, “Having worked in both, would take the MNC anytime.”
Another commented, “Compliance on SOP is the way to go. You may think it’s inefficient or/and stupid but just follow accordingly and you are safe. The company cannot blame or find fault with you for following SOP.
If you did not follow SOP and caused an accident, you can kiss your job goodbye. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
A third Redditor echoed this sentiment, stating, “MNC SOP makes things accountable. Which is what you want when managing across continents. SMEs don’t. Accountability is how MNCs sell their name.
Not saying that selling their name brings you in the money, but there is a certain correlation to brandname/pricing/profitability/salary.”
Meanwhile, some Redditors mentioned that not all MNCs are strict about punctuality.
Sometimes, these companies trust their employees to manage their own schedules and make up for any lost time by working late or completing tasks outside regular hours.
One netizen said, “Hmm, but in MNC is so huge that you’re just a cog in the machine. They don’t even know your existence and being late with valid reason is perfectly normal. Perhaps you need to build up trust with the team first before getting lax?
Sounds like you’re just starting in this culture. Are you sure it is MNC and not ME?”
Read also: MNC employee asks if people still have the “can’t leave office until my boss leaves mentality”
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