The fast-paced lifestyle in Singapore isn’t news by now but what has been making headlines recently is the burnout that many workers experience.
A 35-year-old man is apparently facing that problem to a rather serious extent, where he’s unhappy with his job, marriage and social circle.
Giving a glimpse of his predicament, he expressed a desire to leave Singapore and start anew, all on his own.
Netizens have since responded to his post which they perceived to be a call for help, offering the OP possible alternatives.
Posting on the SGWhispers Facebook page on 9 Oct, the Singaporean man detailed how unhappy he was with his current situation.
Source: Facebook
At 35, he holds a middle-management job at a multi-national corporation, something he described as “dead-end” and a “hellscape”.
The presence of fresh graduates under his guidance and “helicopter” bosses seem to contribute to his sentiments.
Stressing the monotony of his occupation, he added:
I have exactly five office shirts, and like clockwork every day, I make my way downtown on the crowded MRT.
Source: Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
As for his marriage, it reached a certain level of stagnation. After three years with no children, their communication is at a minimum, with “barely a spark”.
“When I come home late from the office, the wife is already asleep, and we don’t say a word,” he said. “We’ve possibly run out of ways to improve each other, and I’m not sure what to do next.”
The outlook on the OP’s social life also seems bleak. With just a few friends meeting sparingly each month, there are few opportunities for him to destress.
Vacations, he added, are even more infrequent, as he goes on them only once a year apart from during the pandemic.
“The grind comes to a pause, but the dreadful feeling in the return flight is overwhelming,” he lamented.
As a result of his current living conditions, the OP describes himself as being depressed.
“I’ve sought professional help with two doctors and even tried to rekindle my faith in the church,” he wrote. “I just don’t think anything is working.”
With not much in the way of material possessions, he mentioned a desire to leave Singapore permanently and begin afresh.
“Nothing in Singapore seems to work,” he stated.
I live for a dead-end job, a dead relationship, and I have no spare time.
With the chance to begin on a clean slate, he hopes to fulfil aspirations he never got to as a teenager — such as drawing comics, climbing mountains, and essentially investing in himself.
The post has since garnered quite a few comments, from concerned netizens who try to offer advice.
One Facebook user provided a few alternatives to tackling the OP’s situation, instead of embarking on a vacation.
Source: Facebook
For instance, setting boundaries at work, scheduling joint activities with his wife and addressing his emotional state could go a long way in improving his current condition.
Furthermore, the user urged the OP to postpone the trip until he found himself in a better position in terms of his mental welfare. As the root of his issues seems to be emotional, travelling overseas would likely not help.
However, other users supported the OP’s decision to take the vacation.
Having no deadline or obligations to rush back to might be a huge help in this regard.
Despite the OP anticipating criticism, most netizens were sympathetic towards his situation.
Source: Facebook
Many offered up words of encouragement, advising him to take the time off if needed.
It can be terribly difficult to deal with emotional and mental burnout, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.
In these cases, the onus is on us to seize control of our situation and take the necessary steps to improve our welfare.
Hopefully, the OP will take the words of advice to heart and see an improvement in his daily routine in the future. We sincerely wish him all the best.
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Featured image adapted from Khwanchai Phanthong on Pexels, for illustration purposes only.
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