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Man Wrote Heartbreaking Post About Auditor Friend Who Passed Away Allegedly From Overworking

2018-10-09 , 3:07 pm

Last Updated on 2018-11-22 , 1:11 pm

Working OT is a culture that isn’t just limited to Japan. It’s a culture that has sprung up in countries all over the world.

Recently, Facebook user Adam Chan from Malaysia decided to write about the overworking culture in the Audit line.

His friend had just passed away the night before, allegedly due to being overworked.

Left Office at 2 AM and Met With Accident While On The Way Home

He wrote that his friend met with an accident while he was travelling back to his home from his office at 2 AM.

He said that his friend had wanted to return home early but couldn’t due to the culture in the Audit department:

“No one should leave the office before works are completed and before your senior (from the highest hierarchy to the lowest) leave accordingly.”

He added a heartbreaking observation in his post:

“Nobody cares if you are tired, have someone waiting for you to go home or any excuses that could delay the work done or affect the overall audit team performance and image.”

He clarified that he wasn’t from the Audit line but said that if that is indeed the culture, something needs to be changed.

He ended off his post by asking other accountants to take care of themselves.

You can read his full post below:

The post went viral, striking a chord with other Malaysians who offered their condolences on the Facebook post.

Netizens also shared his post with their friends, asking them to take care of themselves.

Another Auditor Shared Her Own Experience

After seeing his post, Facebook user Hoo Xinyi decided to write about her own experience as well.

Written in the form of memories, she highlighted different impactful moments in her career that shows the auditing culture.

She said that she had a three-month internship at one of the Big 4 accounting firms about 4 years ago.

She could remember trying to leave work early to attend a friend’s father wake but was rejected.

And she could remember leaving work at 2 AM and waking up at 8 AM every day.

She claimed she got gastric while working at the company and she was known as a “bad” team member because she always wanted to go home early.

And most importantly, she remembered requesting to end the internship earlier because she couldn’t take it anymore.

And since then, she’s never stepped into the auditing field.

This Could Happen To You Too

Unfortunately, there are workplaces where you’re expected to stay back after office hours not to rush through deadlines but to please your bosses.

Even in Singapore.

We’ve even done a video on it to address this (while promoting our app, of course):

This comment cemented the situation in the best:

Work Culture in Singapore

In case you’re not aware, a study in 2016 revealed that 47% of Singaporeans do OT. That means almost half the Singapore is working beyond the 44 hours.

Just something to ponder over.