Throwaway account for obvious reasons because HR definitely monitors Reddit during working hours.
Just had my annual performance review today, and I am sitting at my desk now typing this while my blood pressure is hitting the ceiling.
A bit of context: our department has been operating severely short-staffed for the past six months after two senior guys left and management decided not to replace them. I’ve been tanking extra workload, working till 9 PM almost every night, missing workouts, and living on cold cai fan just to keep the operational lights on. When appraisal season rolled around, my manager called me into the meeting room with this massive, glowing smile like he was about to hand me the keys to a new BTO.
He sits me down, looks me dead in the eye, and goes, “We’ve reviewed your performance, and management is extremely impressed with your dedication. So as a recognition of your hard work, we are giving you a special bonus this year—we are entrusting you with the entire regional operations portfolio!”
I froze. I literally waited for him to hand me the envelope or slide across a paper with the bonus multiplier and increment percentage. Total silence.
So I asked nicely, “Oh, thanks boss! Does this come with a salary band review or a title adjustment?”
This guy had the absolute cheek to laugh and say, “Money is short-term motivation lah. We are giving you visibility! Exposure! This is a stretch assignment because we see big leadership potential in you. In this economic climate, management is trusting you with higher-level responsibility instead of laying people off. That is the real reward.”
EXPOSURE? VISIBILITY? Can exposure pay my bills? Can I go down to NTUC FairPrice and scan my “visibility” at the self-checkout counter to pay for groceries?
Basically, my bonus for doing the job of two people is getting to do the job of three people. Zero variable bonus, zero increment, zero title change, but 100% more OT and free mental degradation. When I pressed further about a mid-year compensation review, he hit me with the classic line: “We need to see you perform at this new level consistently for 12 to 18 months first before we can justify the budget.”
I am so done. The corporate gaslighting in companies nowadays has really reached Olympic gold medal standards. “Stretch assignment” my foot—it’s just quiet promotion and cost-cutting wrapped in toxic positivity.
Anyone else’s company pull this exact same stunt recently? How do you guys survive this kind of pattern without losing your mind before securing a new offer?