SINGAPORE: An Indonesian worker who’s currently earning S$6,000 a month took to Reddit to ask locals if “working from 9 am to 11 pm almost every day is actually normal in Singapore.”
The 30-year-old wrote on the r/askSingapore forum that they’ve been operating on a punishing schedule of up to 14 hours a day and have even been putting in hours on weekends.
“I keep telling myself it’s just ‘startup life’ or ‘SG hustle culture,’ but I honestly can’t tell anymore if I’m getting a normal experience or getting cooked.”
They explained that they moved to Singapore some time ago for a creative role at a tech company, where they handle a mix of video editing, AI content production, prompt engineering, and motion graphics.
“I genuinely like the work,” they said, but admitted that their routine has started to feel a bit draining. Most days are just work, then home, then sleep, on repeat. They added that they can go an entire weekend without speaking to anyone face-to-face, and it has made them realise how much they miss having a proper social circle.
“What does a reasonable workload actually look like for someone in a creative/production role here?” they asked others.
“Also, [do you have] any recommendations for communities, meetups, hobby groups, or hangout spots? An Indonesian community would be nice, but honestly, I’m open to anything—sports, board games, art stuff, expat groups, whatever’s chill.”
