S’pore employee seeks advice on ‘misogynistic colleagues’ who give unsolicited advice

Employee frustrated by ‘misogynistic colleagues’ inserting themselves into conversations

A Singapore employee has taken to Reddit to seek advice on dealing with what they described as “misogynistic colleagues” at work.

In a post on r/askSingapore on 19 March, the Original Poster (OP) said two co-workers frequently interrupt conversations and offer unsolicited opinions.

When doing so, they often draw comparisons to their own National Service (NS) experiences.

Alleged sexist remarks and ‘mansplaining’

While the OP acknowledged that NS is a valid experience, they found it frustrating when colleagues used it to generalise workplace situations based on what they had encountered as “testosterone-filled 18-year-olds”.

“They just insert themselves in and feel the need to give advice. Advice nobody asked for,” the OP said.

The OP also accused the colleagues of displaying a range of misogynistic behaviours.

These include making negative comments about women who wear makeup and questioning female colleagues’ competence.

They were also said to “mansplain” tasks despite not being from the same department, and allegedly made remarks such as preferring to work only with men and calling some female colleagues “lazy and weak”.

The OP added that they even downplayed menstrual pain, saying things like: “Period only what. Don’t weak leh.”

Management allegedly favours misogynistic colleagues

The OP added that the situation is made worse because management appears to favour these individuals.

The “bosses” allegedly view these individuals as proactive and having “strong leadership qualities” due to their tendency to volunteer and take charge.

As a result, many female colleagues have chosen to avoid them. At the same time, some male colleagues have attempted to call out their behaviour.

“We thought the loneliness will make them realise that ego doesn’t pay off, but they just started hanging out with the bosses instead,” the OP lamented.

The OP then asked netizens for advice: “Need some good comebacks or methods to deal with misogynists bros.”

Netizens suggest HR or witty comebacks

The post quickly gained traction, with netizens offering advice ranging from ignoring them to reporting the behaviour to Human Resources (HR).

One netizen suggested either ignoring them or responding with “snide remarks”.

Another Redditor felt that the issue constitutes workplace harassment and could be highlighted to HR.

A commenter joked that the two colleagues weren’t being misogynistic, only that they “peaked in NS”.

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), workplace harassment can occur when one party at the workplace demonstrates behaviour that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to another party.

More information on handling workplace harassment can be found in the  Tripartite Advisory on Managing Workplace Harassment.

Also read: Foreigner says S’porean colleagues switching to Chinese mid-conversation feels ‘rude & awkward’

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