Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX

The death of May Leong spawned a very long comment thread on her last blog entry, which reveals the complications of living and working in Singapore.

The issue starts with a comment that asserts that “the problem is with herself (May Leong)”:

Pardon me, but i think the problem lies with herself. Her emphasis on work and money is her downfall. Every employee will have endless workload and deadlines to meet, but one must know how to prioritise your workload and prevent it from affecting ur health. If you allow ur boss and colleagues to walk all over you, then u wont have time for urself. Work is part of life, not the other way around. U think her boss will know/care how much work she is doing if she dont bother to explain herself or even if it affects her health? Only she knows her body. She would be a healthier person if she is in love with her job, instead of treating it as a means of getting money.[chcho5 on May Leong]

And to add insult to injury her death:

Guys,this is what certain HP superiors has to say about my sis May..pick up from some forum…

I do not like to talk abt Ms Leong, since she has already passed on. However, I would like to state that HP is not around only yesterday, and her position is not new. If in the past, no one gets killed for overwork, then why she?
I could be guessing, but just to hear from a one-sided aspect of the death is rather bias, agree?

Another thing, if she is so busy, how she can find the time to blog? Then finally, working 8 straight hours in an environment which is her own home, and not in the office, it is really strange how she could have DVT, when she can stretch and relax in the comfort of her own home.[markymark1980 on May Leong]

May Leong’s cousin markymark1980 goes on to reveal that the problem is not unique to her; it affects the whole Singaporean labor force:

In singapore,the culture that we have,is that we are encourage to worship the “$golden-calf$”cars,cash,condos etc etc… Not to mention getting a decentlly paid job to survive in this ever raising cost of living country, is not a stroll in the park.[markymark1980 on May Leong]

As for the remarks of the alleged HP superior:

The Replies from other forumers:
Hey to be fair to her, according to New Paper, her blog only has 1 entry in the whole of 2007..

so she doesn’t really spend much time on blogging..

Another Forumer:
There you have it, so busy that she can only blog once through whole of 2007.

From anecdotal and personal evidence, most Singaporeans NEVER work office hours, but have to work substantially past it otherwise the boss and colleagues take an unfavourable view of them. There is strong peer pressure.[markymark1980 on May Leong]

I myself have received some offers to work in Singapore. Several of my colleagues and friends have actually left last week and started working last Monday. While the opportunity to work in another country with a salary four to five times higher than what I am currently earning seems lucrative, I dragged my feet on these “opportunities” knowing well the kind of work ethic the Singaporeans have.

After my own experiences (see the latter part of my previous entry) with a company with a similar work ethic, I will just have to admit that I’m not up to it. Call me lazy all you want, but my 40 hour workweek is ideal, and I do extend hours when needed, but my weekends and my home are sacrosanct.

I think Singaporeans will be thankful that I didn’t opt to go anyway. markymark1980 continues:

Considering the kind of competition other than locals, that is intensifided with truckloads of foreign talents or trash competing for your job,IN YOUR country. [markymark1980 on May Leong]

One of the reasons that I was likewise hesitant of going to Singapore is the reported intense competition among Indian immigrants, locals, and Filipinos in the IT scene, which effectively drove the salary offerings of IT companies down to a level that is no more advantageous than if I remained here in the Philippines.

I certainly wish my colleagues and friends that pushed through to Singapore the best of luck — I hope they don’t end up having to work like May did.