Originally reported on 26 September 2026 by Mothership and The Straits Times.
Honesty note: The opening character in this story is illustrative, drawn from the patterns in the real reporting. She is not a real named person.
She drafts it on the MRT, between Dhoby Ghaut and her stop, thumb hovering over the screen. “Hi, I’m not doing well lately. Can we talk?” She deletes it. She rewrites it softer: “Hi, just checking if I can take a half day sometime?” She deletes that too. By the time the doors open, the message is gone, and she is smiling again, the way she has learned to smile at work — bright enough that nobody asks twice.
She is 24, in her first proper job, and she is good at it. She is also tired in a way sleep does not fix. The tiredness started as small things: waking up already dreading the inbox, rereading the same email three times, feeling her chest tighten when her manager’s name appears on her phone. Then it grew. She began to eat lunch at her desk so nobody would notice she had nothing to say. She began to say “I’m fine” so quickly it sounded rehearsed, even to herself.
What she fears most is not the workload. It is being seen as weak, or difficult, or ungrateful for a job other people would want. She has heard the advice — “just be open, just tell someone” — and she believes it, in theory. In practice, she does not know who the “someone” is. Her manager is kind, but busy. HR is a form, not a person. Her friends are all in the same boat, paddling hard, telling each other they are fine.
One evening, a senior colleague says something ordinary that changes everything. Not a speech. Just: “My first two years, I cried on the way home more times than I can count.” The younger woman laughs, then stops, because she realises she is not the only one pretending. That night, she does not send the perfect message. She sends an imperfect one: “Can I talk to you tomorrow? Nothing urgent, I just need 15 minutes.” Her manager replies within minutes: “Of course. Come by after lunch.”
It is not a cure. It is a crack in the silence. And a crack is enough for light to get in.
What Singapore is actually seeing
A survey of 2,375 working women, conducted 3 to 31 August 2026 by the PAP Women’s Wing and NTUC Women and Family, and released 26 September 2026, found only 21% of early-career women felt comfortable speaking to a manager or HR about mental well-being. One in four said stress, anxiety, burnout or emotional strain affected their work significantly. Pressure to perform well (47%) and heavy workloads or long hours (41%) were the top causes. The Women’s Wing plans mental-health ambassadors and workshops with partners including the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore.
Sources: Mothership, 26 September 2026 — https://mothership.sg/2026/09/pap-mental-ambassadors/ The Straits Times, 26 September 2026 — https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/supporting-women-dealing-with-menopause-early-career-stress-among-pap-womens-wing-focus-areas
Getting help
If you or someone you know is struggling, you do not have to face it alone. National Mindline — 1771 (24 hours), WhatsApp 6669-1771, mindline.sg. Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) — 1767 (24 hours), CareText via WhatsApp 9151-1767. If someone is in immediate danger, call 995 or go to the nearest emergency department.
