“Told Them From the Get-Go, No One in the Company Is Competent Enough to Handle My Work” – Redditor Shares Nightmare Final Weeks Serving Notice
A Redditor on r/SingaporeRaw sparked a wave of responses after sharing how their boss ramped up pressure and unrealistic demands during their notice period. The post, titled “Did your bosses tried to make your life difficult when you were serving your notice period?”, highlighted the harsh reality many face when resigning from toxic work environments.
While some workers manage to leave quietly, others, like this user, are put through what feels like a final test of patience—over-documenting, excessive handovers, and outright micromanagement.
The original poster (u/Disastrous_Grass_376) detailed their resignation from a technical role, only to be hit with an exhausting list of documentation requirements from their team lead. From commenting “every single line of code” to drawing detailed flowcharts and screen-capturing SQL processes, the demands quickly escalated.
Things got worse when a colleague from another department was brought in to scrutinise their work—despite having no technical background. The reasoning? The documentation had to be digestible “for someone who doesn't know IT.”
In frustration, the user questioned the logic: “You don’t hand over a work of this technicality to someone that is IT illiterate.”
They ended their post with a mic-drop moment: after submitting their handover documents, laptop, and ID card, they left without fanfare.
“Told them from the get-go, no one in the company is competent enough to handle my work… today is my last day, just handed in my laptop + ID card and f off.” – u/Disastrous_Grass_376
Public Reactions & Comments
Others chimed in with their own resignation horror stories—and how they handled them.
“Mine tried to load extra saikang on top of the agreed handover list and asked me to OT… spoke with skip-level manager and HR, and in the end still got my 120% bonus.” – Nash-Blacksmith4755
“If your boss does that, you will be pleased to have made the right decision. True colours show when they no longer have control over you.” – 44Stirling
Some took the humourous route:
“No, because during notice period, you are the boss.” – Forumites000
“What you gonna do? Fire me?” – HoyaDestroya33
Others pointed out that the workplace can turn cold and transactional once you resign:
“Life was normal. Nobody really cared about me leaving. No goodbyes, no take care, no luck—even from people I worked with for more than 10 years.” – wanahlun
There were also cases of bosses getting petty or even vindictive:
“Transferred me to maintenance team on 24/7 standby. Gave me two weeks straight, then tried again on the third week even though I was overseas. I ignored his calls when urgent issue came up.” – schofield_revolver
“Boss asked me to leave early without pay because my workload reduced… I just shake leg the last 3 weeks.” – callmecylim
Some did what needed to be done—bare minimum, with no guilt:
“Do half ass job. Since you're gonna leave, let them drown themselves since they don't give you respect.” – AnyMathematician2765
Others, however, were more extreme:
“I peed on their plants and wrapped my poop in A4 paper and hid them around the office.” – rockbella61
Not all stories were hostile. A few users shared positive experiences:
“Worked for a mega MNC. Boss and management were extremely nice. I think they were just curious where I was going—maybe planning to jump ship too.” – not5150
The thread sheds light on how notice periods can become battlegrounds—especially in companies with poor succession planning or management insecurity.
Some employers push departing staff to do the work of multiple people, sometimes out of panic, sometimes out of spite. Others try to extract every last ounce of labour without offering support or appreciation. At the same time, workers are expected to maintain "professionalism" even while being micromanaged or exploited.
The core issue appears to be imbalance—between management expectations and the basic respect owed to an employee who’s already leaving.
The stories also reflect a deeper problem in Singapore’s workplace culture: the obsession with over-documentation, over-control, and squeezing every drop of productivity, even when someone has clearly moved on.
