Is it just me, or is there a “Restructuring” happening by stealth?
Throwaway account for obvious reasons. I’m writing this because I feel like I’m losing my mind and need a reality check from the r/singapore community.
I’ve been with my current SME for about three years. Everything was fine until our new Department Head (let’s call him “The Architect”) joined eight months ago. Since then, the vibe in the office has shifted from “let’s get things done” to “wait for the hammer to fall.”
Lately, The Architect has been finding problems where there aren’t any. I’m talking about microscopic level nitpicking. I submitted a project report last week that was identical in format to the ones he approved in January. Suddenly, the font size is “unprofessional,” the data visualization is “misleading,” and he CC’d the HR director to “note the decline in output quality.” It feels like he’s building a paper trail of “performance issues” against the local team.
But here’s the kicker: while he’s making our lives a living hell, he’s aggressively hiring. In the last four months, four new hires have joined our 15-man team. Every single one of them is from his home state across the causeway.
Look, I’m not xenophobic. We’ve always had a diverse office. But when the lunch table starts speaking a specific dialect 100% of the time, and the “new guys” are getting assigned the high-visibility projects while the original team is stuck doing “remedial” admin work because of our “quality issues,” the writing is on the wall.
It feels like a slow-motion replacement. He finds a “problem” with a local staff member, puts them on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), and then magically, a “highly qualified” contact from his previous firm back home is ready to fill the spot.
I checked the LinkedIn of the latest hire. He doesn’t even have the required certifications listed in the original job JD, yet he’s being fast-tracked into a Senior Lead role. Meanwhile, those of us who have been hit with the “problem-finding” phase are basically just waiting for the letter.
Has anyone else experienced this “hatching a plan” phase? Is it even worth fighting this with MOM, or should I just start polishing the CV and jump ship before he finds a “problem” big enough to fire me?
The gaslighting is the worst part. You start questioning if you’re actually bad at your job, even though you were the top performer last year.