SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man shared online that he’s starting to have serious doubts about whether he should stay in his new job after a call from his boss left him feeling uneasy.
He explained in his post on r/askSingapore that although the job was advertised as hybrid, he was told during the 30-minute call that someone from the team might need to be in the office “daily” and that responsibility could fall on him.
Being the youngest in the team, he was also informed that he might have to assist others with their tasks and should not be “calculative” about it.
Moreover, his boss straight-up told him, “You need to learn how to work hard” and “I’m sure you have potential, and I can stretch you.”
“To be honest, I am not sure if he is saying this just to manage expectations or if I will just be the one doing all the odd work for all the seniors. I was feeling pretty optimistic at first. But in just that short 30-minute call, I don’t know anymore,” he said.
“It’s a red flag, for sure”
In the comments section, many agreed that his boss’ words were a huge red flag. One Redditor was especially put off by the phrase “stretch you”, saying, “Did your manager really say that? Damn that’s scary to me even before joining. Seem to me like there will not be any guidance nor any training and you’ll be thrown to the sea swimming aimlessly.”
Another commented, “Lowkey a red flag. He used the word calculative lol, meaning he’s gonna throw saikang at you or other people’s work and expect you to do it without complaints.”
A third shared their experience working in SMEs, writing, “It’s a red flag, for sure. When I used to work for SMEs, I thought it was normal for junior staff to work the hardest and longest hours while being paid the lowest and allowed the least number of leave. This was the Singaporean way, similar to how we were treated in NS.”
However, not everyone thought the situation was entirely bad. Some suggested that the man should test the waters first before making any hasty decisions.
One Redditor added, “If you are not experienced and this is a good opportunity to learn, I don’t see any problems.”
Another pointed out, “It feels like a very realistic conversation about the outlook and environment that you are going to be in. Honestly, I’m not sure if it is a bad thing that you are warned beforehand or would you rather have things just assigned to you at the workplace.
“Since you’re new, you probably wouldn’t realise that you’re taken advantage of. But to be very fair, although the conversation seems rather pessimistic, it is a reality for a lot of workplaces.”
In other news, a 17-year-old bakery shop employee vented on social media after her manager cut her daily pay of S$88 by 50% for “talking” during the shift and for failing to meet the store’s sales target.
She detailed her experience on the r/SGexams subreddit on March 4, explaining that she had been scheduled for the 2 pm to 10 pm shift alongside two other staff members.
Given the length of the eight-hour shift, she said, they conversed occasionally while carrying out their tasks. Despite this, they managed to generate approximately S$2,500 in sales, which they thought “was good enough,” as their usual daily earnings typically ranged between S$1,500 and S$1,600.
However, to their surprise, their manager deemed the sales insufficient, reprimanded them for underperforming, and enforced a 50% pay cut as punishment.
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