SINGAPORE: A software engineer from Spain who accepted a job offer for a whole lot more money asked about the work culture in Singapore, admitting that he knows “basically nothing about the country” and that he’s “a bit scared about it.”
“Is it common to overwork like in other asian countries like Japan?” he asked, adding that he really likes the 9am to 4pm schedule in his current job. He also asked if there is “anything you would have liked to know before moving to Singapore?” wrote u/theBlazerg on r/askSingapore on Wednesday (May 3).
His question spawned a lively discussion on Reddit, with several Singapore Reddit users, both local and expats, endeavouring to paint an accurate picture of life, especially the work culture here.
One netizen got straight to the point, “It is more of a 9-6 culture here. OT culture depends on the company and department level. Rent is crazy high.”
Another underlined the difference in paid time off in Singapore but warned the post author about drug use.
“Alcohol is crazy expensive and there isn’t a ton of variety. Same with cigarettes. Drugs are very illegal. Not like Europe illegal, but they’ll f****ing kill you illegal, so don’t even think about it. Only come here if you’re fine being without drugs.
One thing I should mention, if you take sick leave and plan to use it to take a short break abroad, you can’t. You have to stay in Singapore. Every time an employment pass holder leaves the country, it is logged in the system and your company is notified. So, if you leave for say Malaysia, whilst on sick leave, they’ll fire your ass immediately and you’ll have 15 days to leave the country. This happened to a French friend of mine, so fair warning.”
Another urged the post author to set the work culture in the company he’s been hired at. “Since you mention you will be part of the startup, you might be the one to set the tone in the company. If it’s a 9-5pm job, then don’t stay longer and set the culture for the company. We also don’t eat dinner very late, my Spanish friend often told me his dinner stretch to 12 midnight etc. I think we often have dinner at 7pm or 8pm. these are a few small things I can think of, but it’s better to check with Spanish expats here in Singapore.”
One took a lighter tone and wrote, “There’s no siesta here.”
“Get ready for heat. Nothing like we get back home, you can’t get away from this, only with AC,” another wrote, and added, “Honestly, I have lived in Lisbon, Amsterdam, LA, NY and Singapore in my opinion is the best to live in. It’s clean, modern, public transit is spotless, people are polite, food is great.”
/TISG