SINGAPORE: A newly hired Singaporean at an SME took to Reddit to vent about his “deranged boss,” who apparently gets offended whenever he asks for guidance on big, complicated projects he has little experience with.
Posting on the r/askSingapore forum on Wednesday (Dec 17), he explained that when he was handed these projects, his boss told him to “figure things out on his own,” while also saying it was fine to ask questions if he wasn’t sure about something.
But when he did try to ask for clarification, the responses were reportedly harsh and dismissive. He said his boss would make comments like, “You think?”, “Did you think of the question before you asked me?”, and “Executive still needs to ask this kind of question?”
He added that he was accused of not “using his brain” and was told, “I pay you a premium to hire you, and you ask me this type of question?”
When mistakes eventually happened, the blame reportedly shifted to him. His boss allegedly said, “Why never ask me questions? You’re new, so you need to ask me more questions,” and added, “Back in the army, I was an officer, and you know what a CSM is. Don’t think like a CSM. Think like an officer. Etc.”
Looking back at his previous job, he said the difference was huge. “I came from a large organisation, and there are a lot of walkthroughs and senior project leads to show me the ropes before I am given my own projects to manage,” he wrote.
Unsure whether this experience was simply part and parcel of working in an SME, he turned to the online community for perspective. “Is this normal in SMEs? Or is he just a deranged boss? Do I need to just suck it up?”
“Please run if you can.”
In the discussion thread, many commenters noted that while bosses like this are relatively common in SMEs, such behaviour is neither normal nor acceptable. They highlighted that taking offence at simple questions or giving contradictory instructions reflects poor management practices.
Several also advised the employee to prioritise his own well-being and carefully consider whether remaining in such an environment was in his best interest.
One user commented, “A good boss sets you up for success, not failure. Get out ASAP, my friend, before you get saddled with some major failure that impacts your ability to get hired elsewhere.”
Another said, “Deranged for sure. Moving forward, ask all the questions in the form of Teams or email so that you have a black-and-white record of all the times he questioned you for not asking. CC everyone in the department. Malicious compliance.”
A third advised, “Please run if you can. But if you can’t, make sure you document everything—projects and tasks you have been asked to work on, your progress to date, your requests to other team members, questions you asked your boss, responses you’ve received, and the dates and approximate times when that occurred. You may need to use that in case your supervisor accuses you of not doing your job.”
In other news, a Singaporean woman has sparked an online discussion about emotional availability and long-term compatibility after sharing her doubts about whether her relationship with a 33-year-old man with a “dismissive-avoidant attachment style” can truly last.
In a post shared on the NUSWhispers Facebook page, the 29-year-old said she has always considered herself emotionally secure and initially believed her boyfriend’s avoidant tendencies were manageable.