“I feel drained” — SG worker says she regrets accepting her 2nd promotion, but it’s “not because of the workload—it’s the people”

SINGAPORE: While many dream of climbing the corporate ladder and snagging that big promotion, one Singaporean worker admits she regrets her recent step up.

In a candid post on r/askSingapore, she shared how she misses the simpler days when her job was straightforward: complete the tasks assigned by her boss, clock out, and leave work behind without the nagging worry of emails or calls invading her weekends.

Now, though, the new role has left her feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

“I got a 2nd promotion and I just feel drained. It’s not the workload—it has always been that chaotic and firefighting all the time—but the people,” she expressed. “I wonder if I’m being sensitive but I feel like people’s attitudes have changed,” she added.

Even though she has a nice mentor and a boss who genuinely supports her, she’s feeling increasingly stressed by her team.

Some of her colleagues have been with the company for significantly longer than she has, but she’s noticed that many of them either seem unsure of their responsibilities or don’t seem to care.

For instance, a customer contacted her to report an issue that hadn’t been addressed, and when she looked into it, she discovered that the team had been aware of the problem for four hours but hadn’t bothered to flag it or take action.

“I’m just feeling so tired,” she said. “Anyone regret getting that promotion?”

“Promotion is never a bad thing. At worst you switch jobs with a higher pay and position.”

In the comments section, one Singaporean Redditor speculated that her second promotion might have shaken things up with her colleagues.

Since they have been at the company longer, her promotion might have rubbed them the wrong way. Some individuals see tenure as a measure of seniority, so when someone newer gets promoted, it can lead to feelings of being overlooked or undervalued. 

It’s also possible that her colleagues think that she got the promotion because of favouritism, hence why they are in ‘quiet quitting’ mode. Regardless of the reason, he pointed out that the dynamics will inevitably change once a ‘peer becomes a supervisor.’

Another added, “Depends on how you got that promotion. Fair and square? Or on their corpses? But since you mention that there are senior staff that are now below you in rank, there’s going to be resentment.

But you mentioned that they work longer than you but look like they don’t know or don’t care. Chances are you got it fair and through your good performance. Then such is life.”

Some Redditors also shared their regrets about accepting promotions. They mentioned that while the extra pay initially sounded great, it didn’t compensate for the additional stress and responsibilities that came with the new role.

One Redditor said, “No more OT after promotion, but still have to stay around for 11-12 hours daily. Now have to deal with loads of paperwork and constant nagging and criticism from upper management and hr and purchasing and blah blah.

Anything goes wrong with come and diao gao me first hand, then ask me to diao gao my colleagues. I hate my job.”

Another commented, “Me, I regret.. it just came with new manager and process that are not the best in combination… The money is better but the stress is immense and would love to go back to last role if I can.”

A few Redditors pointed out that they could always use the promotion as a stepping stone. They recommended leveraging the new role to seek an even higher position elsewhere, effectively doubling the promotion.

This way, they could secure a significantly higher salary to balance the increased workload and stress better. One Redditor expressed, “Promotion is never a bad thing. At worst you switch jobs with a higher pay and position.”

Read also: Singaporean worker asks, “What’s wrong with just doing what I’m paid for with no more and no less?”

Featured image by Depositphotos