SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee took to social media to vent about a company intern, who reportedly complains frequently, shows little initiative on tasks, and appears disengaged from both work and the office environment.
In a post on the r/nus subreddit, the employee said the intern constantly grumbles about being “bored in the office” despite having been given reading materials and asked to learn the company’s drawing software.
“I’m not sure why he’s saying he’s bored when he’s not done with both,” the employee wrote.
The intern also reportedly kept asking about overtime hours, even though the company’s work culture had already been explained to him.
“I already told him we stay late but come late. Our culture is to put in your 8 hours and do your work. We’re not going to police you. Why do you keep asking???”
In addition, the intern was said to have downplayed the complexity of the job.
“He thinks our job is easy. For context, I work at a solar company, and no joke, the guy said, ‘I can’t install the plugin to put solar panels on the roof. Can I just send you the file so you can put them for me? After that, it’s done, right? Just put them, and it’s done?’”
The remark reportedly caught the team off guard, especially as the intern had already been provided with previous designs that included clear spacing guidelines and detailed explanations on where the panels should be placed.
“You can’t just slap panels on a roof and call it a day. Worse still, he’s not asking why we design it so.”
Beyond technical concerns, the employee said the intern struggled with workplace social interactions.
He claimed the intern rarely spoke during lunch, later complained that lunch “was boring because it was too quiet,” frequently attempted awkward small talk, failed to ask questions when confused, forgot colleagues’ names, and often appeared “extremely sleepy.”
Adding to the list, the intern reportedly showed little interest in company activities.
“We’ve mentioned our CSR events, DEI events, and Men’s Network events, and how we’re still trying to plan stuff, so we would appreciate his ideas, and he straight up said, ‘Oh, I don’t mind doing nothing! In fact, I quite like it!’
“Honestly, if he wasn’t supposed to be helping me, I wouldn’t care too much. But he is supposed to help me with my work, so his poor attitude is a concern for me.”
“Some people just aren’t suitable for work.”
In the Reddit discussion thread, opinions were divided. One user suggested escalating the matter to management.
“Just report him to the manager and give your objective take. Seems like he has low EQ,” they said.
“The only way people would learn is if their back was truly against the wall. He’s not your friend; he is an intern who is beneath you on the totem pole.”
Another shared a similar experience, saying, “I am a Higher Nitec ITE intern at a ‘small’ financial services company, and your NUS intern’s behaviour matches the description of some of my underperforming peers who have already been fired…”
A third user wrote, “The last time we hired an unsuitable intern, I fired her. It was credit-bearing, so I told her that I wouldn’t tell the school she was fired. So officially, she completed the internship.”
“Some people just aren’t suitable for work. Coaching and advice won’t help. It is just the way it is.”
Others, however, urged the employee to give the intern more time.
One commenter said, “I think, give him the benefit of the doubt. Try to understand why he is bored in the first place. Is he bored because the stuff he needs to do is difficult for him to accomplish?”
They added, “For me, if he just got hired last week as an intern and is probably underpaid, I think more time should be given to ramp him up and set expectations. Unless you tell me he has been like that for months without change, or worse, a full-time staff.”
In other news, a man in his late twenties has found himself burdened with S$70,000 in debt after years of attempting to please those around him with money he did not have, a decision he now says he bitterly regrets.
In a post shared on the r/singaporefi subreddit on Sunday (Jan 18), the man explained that his financial troubles began when he was 22.