‘If A can do B’s job at a cheaper pay, why keep B?’ Singapore worker questions workplace culture
SINGAPORE: One Singaporean worker’s view of the working world changed after she watched her assistant manager, who had spent 10 years with the company and was considered incompetent at his job, get sacked, only for the colleague who did “the actual work” of the role and earned half his salary to be passed over for the position.
After seeing how the company appeared to value neither loyalty nor hard work, she decided she would only do the bare minimum, a mindset often referred to as “quiet quitting.”
In a post on the r/asksg forum on Wednesday (Sep 23), the worker said that when the assistant manager was let go, everyone in the office assumed the hardworking colleague who had willingly taken on his duties would finally be rewarded with the role.
After all, he was already familiar with the work and had effectively been doing much of it.
However, the promotion never came.
According to her, the colleague “only received the normal yearly salary adjustment that everyone receives.”
What made things even worse, she added, was that her manager and boss later terminated another employee and expressed no remorse. They reportedly only said: “If A can do B's job at a cheaper pay, why would we keep B?”
“That statement really changed how I looked at things,” she wrote. “The general feeling now is: Why should we take on additional responsibilities beyond our job scope if the company is just going to give us more work without additional pay or recognition?”
“It feels like being capable just makes you the person management gives more work to, while staying within your job scope protects you from taking on additional responsibilities.”
She then questioned whether this kind of working culture is actually common in Singapore and why, for the life of her, the bosses are “so out of touch.”
“From a management perspective, does this approach actually make sense? Wouldn't it eventually discourage your better employees from going above and beyond?” she asked. “I only got a pay raise when I tried to resign a few years back. Thinking of really leaving now.”
‘Leave once you reach the value/salary limit’
Several Reddit users told her that this was simply part of how the working world operates.
One user claimed that “80% of local management is like that,” although they attributed some of the situation to hiring and wage freezes across various sectors.
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Another advised, “As an employee, learn what you can, then leave once you reach the value/salary limit for that role if there is no chance to move upwards.”
A third said, “The onus is on you to be proactive and take care of yourself. If you feel like you deserve more pay, then speak up to the big boss and tell them why they should be paying you more. Have people truly forgotten the skill and art of asking for what they want??”
“And if they don’t give it to you, then you know what to do next too. Leave, go and find a better opportunity.”/TISG