In a cautionary tale for the “quiet quitting” era, a local remote employee’s desperate attempt to escape a mounting workload backfired spectacularly this morning after they deliberately poured water over their company laptop. Overwhelmed by weeks of back-to-back deadlines and high-pressure deliverables, the worker confessed to sabotaging their device in hopes of securing an immediate reprieve from the daily grind. However, the plan for a “system crash” holiday was short-lived; instead of a day off, the employee received a swift reprimand for carelessness followed by the immediate delivery of a replacement unit. Now facing a doubled-up workload and the guilt of a staged accident, the worker is a stark reminder that in Singapore’s hyper-efficient corporate landscape, a “tech breakdown” is no match for a proactive IT department.
Here is the story:
It happened this morning. I had to come to terms with the fact that I had spilled water on purpose on my company laptop.
I am a work from home employee.
It was something I did consciously or willingly and most importantly, it was done on purpose. I had been feeling so stressed and overwhelmed with work, that I felt like I had to do something to get out of it.
It had been a stressful few weeks at work, with long hours and a lot of pressure. I had been juggling multiple tasks and deadlines and it was taking a toll on my energy levels.
I was feeling really overwhelmed and exhausted and I just wanted a break.
I had been trying to make it work, but I just couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like I had no other choice but to do something drastic.
So, I spilled water on my laptop.
I knew that it would mean that I wouldn’t be able to work anymore and that I would be able to take a break. I knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I felt like I had no other choice.
And so, I told my boss that I had ‘accidentally’ spilled water on my laptop and it was unable to operate any more.
I thought I could escape work for a while but instead, after chiding me for being careless, my boss arranged for a replacement laptop to be sent to me almost immediately.
I ended up having to catch up on my work.
Should have just called in sick instead.