Throwaway account because some of my colleagues follow my main.
I just came back from my uncle’s funeral and I’m just… numb. This man was the “success story” my parents always used to guilt-trip me with. 14-hour days, 6 days a week, never took a PH off, always “on-call.” He scrimp and save, eat caifan every day, no holiday except for “business trips” to JB or Batam.
The man finally hit the “Singapore Dream.” He had S$8 million in the bank, fully paid-off landed property, and two condos he was renting out. He was 62. He was supposed to “finally retire” next year.
And then? Sudden cardiac arrest. Gone in 10 minutes.
He didn’t even get to spend a single cent of that $8M on himself. He spent his whole life building a “legacy” that he didn’t even get to witness. Now his kids (who barely know him because he was always “at the office”) are fighting over the inheritance before the body is even cold.
Seriously, what are we doing in this country?
- We flex about being “High SES” but we are all just one medical emergency away from being a statistic.
- We judge people who leave the office at 5:30 PM like they are “not hungry enough.”
- We sacrifice our health in our 30s to make money, then spend all that money in our 50s trying to buy back our health.
I look at my LinkedIn feed and everyone is “Humbled and honored” to be a corporate slave. My uncle was “honored” too, and his company replaced him within 48 hours. His Gmail was deactivated before the wake even started.
Is S$8M worth a life you didn’t actually live? I don’t think so. I’m sitting in my office now looking at my boss and I just want to walk out. We are all just “Human Capital” until we expire. Then we are just a line in the obituary.
TL;DR: My uncle died a millionaire but he died a stranger to his own life. Don’t kill yourself for a job that treats you like a replaceable spare part.