SINGAPORE: A seemingly harmless phrase often heard during job interviews is coming under scrutiny online, after a Singaporean worker claimed it is one of the biggest warning signs a company can give prospective employees.

“We’re like a family here.”

While some employers use the phrase to project warmth, teamwork, and camaraderie, critics say it can sometimes signal blurred boundaries, unrealistic expectations, and a workplace culture that demands personal sacrifice without matching rewards.

Posting on Reddit’s r/asksg forum, the Singaporean said he has grown deeply suspicious of companies that proudly describe themselves as “family.”

“Every time a company says, ‘We’re not just colleagues, we’re family,’ it immediately triggers me,” he wrote.

According to him, “family” in corporate language often comes with some very specific expectations.

He said, “‘Family usually means: stay back a bit longer, be flexible, help out this one time, cover your colleague, and wear multiple hats. But when bonuses, promotions, increments, or layoffs happen, suddenly we’re not family anymore.”

The man also said he actually trusts companies more when they are straightforward about the relationship.

“Maybe I’ve become too jaded from corporate life, but I genuinely trust companies more when they’re honest and just say: ‘We pay you. You do the work.’”

At the end of his post, he asked other forum members: “Am I the only one who gets nervous whenever an interviewer says ‘we’re like a family here’?”

“I want boundaries at work.”

The post quickly struck a chord with many online users, who agreed that companies heavily promoting “family culture” are a red flag.

One user shared that they once rejected a well-paying job offer purely because the employer repeatedly described the company as a family.

They added, “It’s a major red flag for me. I’d gladly let someone else join their family. There’s just too many unspoken obligations and boundary crossings that I would not be paid enough for.”

Another commenter shared, “‘We are a family!’When my request for transfer to another department was put up, no exit interview, no farewell lunch, no ‘Why do you want to leave?’ Mind you, I slogged my guts out to save that dying product and made it living again. I took on the job of another 1-1.5 headcount.”

“That’s why I decided to leave, and this ‘family’ decided to treat me as a stranger till this day. But it seems like everyone in the family wants to leave, except for the managers. I wonder why. When you hear this phrase, RUN! They never treat you like family. They use that to manipulate you to work.”

A third user commented, “‘We’re a family’ sends me running in the opposite direction. Nope, nope, nope. I am also wary of colleagues who always go, ‘hello friends.’”

A fourth added, “Run away at the first instance. I want boundaries at work. I want to be paid for the work done. I want to be rewarded when the company does well.”/TISG

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This article (‘We’re a family here’: Singaporeans say it’s one of the biggest workplace red flags) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.