'Everyone gets stretched thinner': Singaporeans discuss toxic workplace culture - Singapore News

SINGAPORE: A discussion on Reddit about toxic workplace culture has prompted Singaporeans to share the workplace habits they believe have become so common that many people simply accept them.

The discussion began after one Reddit user pointed to chronic understaffing as one of the biggest problems in many workplaces.

According to the poster, companies often reduce manpower, distribute the extra workload among the remaining employees and call it “efficiency.”

“Everyone gets stretched thinner, but because it’s become so common, people just accept it,” the Redditor wrote before asking others what they thought were the most toxic practices that have become normalised in Singapore workplaces.

Many agreed that regularly working beyond official hours has become an accepted part of office life.

Others pointed to WhatsApp, saying the issue wasn’t the app itself but the expectation that employees should always be available.

One commenter asked, “Do you think the problem is the platform itself, or the expectation that messages should be replied to immediately regardless of time?”

The original poster replied that it was the expectation of having to respond immediately that made it toxic.

Another commenter shared, “Nowadays, I put my phone on silent mode on my rest days because those WhatsApp notifications freak me out.”

Being contacted while on leave was another common complaint.

“This one always puzzles me. If someone is on leave, are they really on leave if they’re still expected to answer calls and messages? Where should companies draw the line?” one Redditor asked.

Some also said colleagues shouldn’t feel obligated to follow one another on social media if they aren’t close outside work, arguing that it blurs the line between professional and personal life.

As more people joined the discussion, similar experiences continued to emerge.

One commenter summed it up by writing, “Looking through the replies so far, a pattern seems to be emerging: (1) Being expected to work beyond official hours, (2) Being contactable during leave or MC, (3) Chronic understaffing, and (4) Lack of respect for personal time.”

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