SINGAPORE: A 32-year-old healthcare worker earning up to S$8.5k a month says the brutal hours and constant stress of her job eventually destroyed her health, leaving her with “stage 3 cancer, chest pains, gastritis, burnout, depression, and anxiety.”

In a Reddit post on Monday (May 4), the woman shared that she spent seven years in the healthcare sector, often surviving on just three hours of sleep while juggling full-day shifts and 24/7 on-call duties for an entire week.

She added that even meal breaks were extremely short. “My lunchtime daily was 30-45 mins, sometimes less.”

While the salary looked attractive on paper, she said the trade-off was devastating.

“My physical health was seriously compromised with me getting stage 3 cancer and chest pains due to high stress as well as gastritis,” she shared. “Throughout my career journey, I also had burnout, depression, and anxiety due to long working hours.”

Hoping to recover, she later moved to a smaller centre with regular hours and accepted a much lower salary, but she claimed the pressure never really stopped, as she was still expected to lead, train, and manage staff despite those responsibilities allegedly never being mentioned during the hiring process.

Feeling exhausted and “a bit cheated,” she has since decided to leave the role completely and is now looking into a career switch for the sake of her well-being.

“I want to switch careers for the sake of my well-being. [I’ve] done all necessary treatments, and I’m in remission now,” she said. “I would really appreciate any suggestions and don’t mind going back to school to be retrained.”

“Health over paycheck”

Many Singaporean Redditors responded with messages of encouragement and support.

One commenter wrote, “All the best. Sadly, I can’t offer much advice as I’m in a similar situation as you, but health really comes first before work (something I have to keep telling myself as well).”

Another said, “I don’t have any suggestions but would like to assure you that health comes first; you made the right move. Wish you all the best for recovery.”

A third added, “Health over paycheck always sia, no point grinding till your body crashes. Career can restart, but you only got one you for real.”

Some Redditors also shared suggestions for alternative careers that could offer her a less stressful and more balanced lifestyle.

One user commented, “Maybe you can look at being an adjunct lecturer relating to healthcare? I believe that your experience and mentorship are highly rewarded, especially in polytechnics.”

Another suggested, “Go private sector medical/pharma ops or compliance; better hours, decent pay, less chaos.”

A third wrote, “Maybe administrative/remote work at home? Sorry, can’t really suggest as much, but you should rest more, and I’m glad to hear you are in remission. Don’t take any high-stress jobs anymore.”

In other news, an Indonesian worker who’s currently earning S$6,000 a month took to Reddit to ask locals if “working from 9 am to 11 pm almost every day is actually normal in Singapore.”

“I keep telling myself it’s just ‘startup life’ or ‘SG hustle culture,’ but I honestly can’t tell anymore if I’m getting a normal experience or getting cooked.”

Read more: ‘14 hours is crazy’: Worker earning S$6K questions long work hours in Singapore

This article (Healthcare worker earning S$8.5k says years of stress and long hours left her with cancer, chest pains, gastritis, and mental health struggles) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.