SINGAPORE: A 27-year-old woman working in a fragrance company took to an online forum on Monday (Feb 3) to express her distress over feeling like she had hit a plateau after almost five years of working in the same company.
“I’m currently working in R&D creating scents for the company,” the young writer shared. “I’ve been in the industry for close to five years. Never really thought that I would be in this industry, but always been really passionate about fragrance. As much as I love my job, I think I hit a plateau. My previous project was doing so well; in fact, my boss kept praising me for my efforts and made the product one of the best-selling products in a span of a few months.
“But here’s the catch: despite doing well, I haven’t gotten any bonus or increment (only once $200) for the past year. My pay is about $2.7k. I’m writing this during working hours now in the lab because I feel like there’s no more spark in my job.”
The young hopeful shared, “I feel like a loser in the company. I’ve been thinking about it and crying every now and then, not knowing who I can reach out to. My friends are all married and have been doing well in their jobs. They have their own lives, so I don’t want to vent my problems to them. Also, I won’t try to deny that sometimes I feel insecure and far away from them.”
She then turned to Singaporeans with more experience to ask, “Can anyone recommend a job that pays well, provides aws, performance bonus etc? I’m desperate to look for a new job. I’m not super desperate, but I don’t want to work here any longer without a backup plan; hence, I’m here asking for advice or recommendations.
Many heard her cry for help and responded with messages of support and helpful insights for the writer to consider. “Hugs, but you really need to find another company,” said one. “My pay is generally already on the mid-low-end tier because I’m in the design/tech industry, working in an SME, and I only have a diploma. Your existing pay is how much I was being paid as a fresh graduate directly from Poly with five years of experience. You need to move ASAP! I don’t know much about fragrance companies, so I can’t recommend them, but if you let me know what company you’re working for, I’d be happy to boycott hehe.”
“Apologies, I don’t have any recommendations for a new job,” said another. “But I am sincerely suggesting that you ask for that pay raise and bonus. You have to understand that in the working world unless we have ties to someone high-ranking or someone important, all of us are not special. You cannot expect people to give you all the good stuff without you asking or showing that you want it.”
Another encouraged the writer to start selling her own products. “If I were you, I would start my own indie brand and sell it on Etsy.”
Later on, the writer edited her original post to add a message expressing her gratitude to all the people who took the time to share advice with her. “Thank you all for your kind words, advice and recommendations!” she added. “I have been getting DMs from nice people and words of wisdom that I will for sure need in the future. I can’t reply to all of them because there are too many, but I’m reading it all! I’ve decided that I might start up a small business focusing on home living products. It’s in the midst of working right now.
“Thank you so much to those who inspired me to start up and believe that I can do it. I will most probably stay in the company until I cannot make it anymore, hahahah jk, but I still do need money and it’s not easy to find jobs right now. I would like to thank everyone again for being nice. Never thought that I’d get this much support from strangers online. Thank you so much! Sending love!”
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