40 y/o man wants to quit his job without a backup plan, has $380k saved: 'It’s destroying my health’

SINGAPORE: Working late into the night, being on call at weekends, and never quite managing to switch off—one 40-year-old says his job has started following him everywhere, and his mental health is paying the price.

Now, he is seriously considering doing the unthinkable: quitting without another job lined up.

At 40, however, walking away from a steady salary is hardly a decision he can make on a whim. He worries that taking a career break could make it much harder to get back into the workforce, especially given how tough the job market is.

On Sunday (Aug 30), he took to Reddit’s r/asksg forum, sharing that he is a “senior officer in the uniformed services” and that his workload “has escalated to an unsustainable level” over the past year or two.

“It’s constant tight deadlines (work that is not even related to my core work), working late into the night almost daily, and being on call mentally even during weekends.”

“My mental health has taken a massive hit. I wake up with dread, can barely focus outside of work with my family, and feel completely drained.”

“I don’t have another offer lined up. The rational side of me knows the job market right now is tough, especially at 40. But staying on feels like actively destroying my health, and if losing the pay momentum is a factor, I actually don’t mind taking a pay cut even if I have a job offer now.”

‘How punishing is it?’

Before making the leap, he wanted to know what he could realistically expect from the job market, so he asked the online community how “punishing” it might be for someone his age trying to get back into work after a short career break.

He also wanted to hear from people who had taken a similar gamble.

“Did those of you who pulled the trigger with some financial safety net feel it was worth it, or did the stress of unemployment just replace the work stress?” he asked.

The man added that he has a financial safety net to fall back on.

With around S$380,000 in savings, he is considering taking a three- to six-month “hard reset” to recover mentally, spend some proper time with his family, and actively explore private-sector or alternative roles.

‘Take a sabbatical’

The comments were split. Some encouraged him to take the break, saying there was nothing wrong with stepping away to focus on his mental health. 

Others, however, felt a sabbatical might be a better option than leaving work altogether.

One wrote, “Hi, as an SO, you can apply for a sabbatical if I’m not wrong. Or you can take NPL after clearing all of your ALs. Do speak to your supervisor on this. Taking NPL/Sabbatical would give you the rest and time needed to reframe your mindset and think through what you want to do from here on.”

Another shared, “Had a friend taking a sabbatical of a year. Why not do the same? Come back, you still got a job. One year to roam freely on earth. Better than returning to a jobless state.”

A third added, “From what I gathered from my spouse, who also works in public service, just request for a 6-month (at least) sabbatical, and it could trigger you to be put on a posting cycle, so that means you change your job scope or may be posted somewhere else in the uniformed group.”

In other news, a Singaporean woman has sought advice online after finding herself increasingly uncomfortable with how she and her fiancé split their expenses, particularly as he now earns around three times as much as she does.

The couple, who have been together for six years, initially adopted a 50/50 approach when they were both students and had limited finances.

Read more: Singapore woman questions 50/50 expenses after fiancé’s income jumps to 3x hers