A Grounding, Eye-Opening Look Into the Lives That Power Singapore
This book is an extraordinary collation of true, heartfelt personal stories detailing what individuals from all walks of life do for a living—and, more importantly, how they truly feel about what they do. Reading through these pages made me realize just how many professions exist right around us that I was completely unaware of. From foreign workers coming to Singapore for short-term stints at night bars and the local agents who manage this pool of service providers, to retirees tending community gardens or directing passengers at train stations, the book highlights a vast spectrum of human activities in Singapore.
The effort by the National University team of student interviewers and their lecturers to put together such authentic narratives is commendable. These stories cover everyday roles we often take for granted—supermarket stockers, Vitagen aunties, baristas, cleaners, and domestic workers—alongside unique perspectives from others like drag queens, bus captains, buskers, musicians, and paralegals. Beneath all these varied roles, a quiet truth emerges: regardless of the job, the driving motivation is strikingly similar. Most of us work simply to survive and make a living, while those driven purely by passion are few and far between. It is sad but true. We are living in Singapore after all. Sometimes, a job might look glamorous no the outside, but deep within there are so many issues and problems about these glamour that are hidden away from the public eye too.
Written in short, easily digestible stories, the collection naturally weaves individual work lives with broader personal contexts. As interviewees open up about their jobs, aspects of their familial, societal, and personal struggles surface, revealing deeper trends and systemic issues within our society that may or may not be concerning. It shows how our work intertwines with our life directly and indirectly, no matter how hard we try to separate the two from each other.
This read offers a profound reality check and a grounding experience. It reveals that our daily complaints and work struggles are neither unique nor isolated—they are in fact universal. It serves as a good reminder that we are all navigating our circumstances as best as we can. For me, there is also a deeper, more heightened sense of empathy and a refreshed take on my own career, that maybe, it isn’t so bad after all, compared to those that I’ve read about in this book. At the end of the day, it all boils down to having a broader, better vantage point that can help us reframe our current situation and get us refreshed and ready for the next steps.
This is an easy read recommended especially for those who are, at this point in time, feeling jaded in life, at work and/or at home. It might help you decide what next, or what other roles you might want to try before you retire for good, or get you to concur that life isn’t so bad after all, so maybe, you can continue to keep that job for now.
