On 14 September, on the way back to Singapore from Johor Bahru, Ms. S (for anonymity) and her family, including her helper, met with an unexpected car crash.
The accident left her helper badly injured while the latter was protecting Ms. S’s 11-month-old child.
Due to the unprecedented situation, and with no one to help care for her two children—one aged 11 months and another five years old—Ms. S requested an extension to work from home. In her contract, the print explicitly stated the availability of WFH arrangements with approval from the boss.
Ms. S was waiting to hear from her company about whether her request would be approved or not, when, on 30 September, she received a message on WhatsApp from the company: she was laid off.
Without an official termination letter, and seeing phrasing like ‘taking advantage’ thrown in the text, teary-eyed Ms. S was at her wits’ end trying to understand the predicament.
“It’s disheartening to see how little empathy there can be for working mums with young kids,” she said.
During Her Employment
Speaking to Wake Up Singapore, Ms. S informed that her former boss had no issues or concerns about her work. Previously, he even commended her working style, intelligence, and efficiency in managing her tasks.
Ms. S clarified that she would always be present in the office, and work from there unless there was a completely unavoidable emergency.
With an 11-month-old and a preschooler, unforeseen emergencies are bound to happen.
Ms. S speculates that her former employer may not have been happy due to her prior requests to work from home due to family emergencies. She then spoke about what her contract stated and concerns shared during her interview with the company prior to her being hired.
Concerns Raised During Company Interview
Ms. S was already a mom of two when she applied to the company, which dealt with wholesale shipping of spare parts. There were only three employees, including her, at her time of employment.
Willing to earn an honest living, Ms. S wished to return to the workforce after years of being a stay-at-home mom. Understandably, she had raised her concerns to the company during her interview with them. She explained that due to having young kids, she would sometimes need to work from home, upon which she was assured that the company would be flexible and that they cared about work-life balance.
Ms. S said her previous requests to work from home had been approved, further puzzling her recent situation. She also mentioned that her husband had limited leave, thus pushing her to request a WFH extension at that time.
Current Concerns
Ms. S informed us that her family is well and her helper has recovered. She further highlighted that since she is the one who hired her helper and manages the salary, she is desperately looking for employment again.
The mom of two stated that not every family has a ‘village’ to help them, nor can they always have a helper to care for children. Ms. S also said her workplace had no set KPIs, and her intention was to simply manage her tasks from home, just as she would have in the office.
Empathy for Working Moms
When asked about what Ms. S wished employers would understand about working mums, she replied:
‘As a SAHM for 5 years plus who just came back to full-time workforce this year, I really do hope that all employers can consider taking us back to the workforce although there will be some gaps. I mean, be kind to us mums with young kids less than 6 years old. Especially if we have a baby below 2 years old. Not all families have a village or helper.
So when we request WFH (if we can WFH), just let your employee WFH and don’t discriminate against them.’
More from Wake Up Singapore:-
“So, I Just Lost My Job” — Woman Laid Off During Morning Meeting
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