Work is hard. Despite exhortations to follow our dreams, find our passion, and never give up, these few words from a tea seller in one of Singapore’s hawker centers probably come closer to the reality of employment for most of us. It’s particularly the case for Singapore, where people work some of the longest hours in the world. Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Manpower show that despite a long-term decline, as of 2017 Singapore residents still work more than residents of any other OECD country. Meanwhile, media stories with titles like “Age of golden workers” (Straits Times, 30 April 2017) extoll the benefits of working into one’s eighties or even nineties. If we take these reports at their word, many Singaporeans will be working hard from the moment they enter the workforce until the day they leave this earthly existence. 

On this website, you’ll find interviews of a diverse range of working people. As much as possible, we’ve tried to include people of every age, ethnicity, gender, and background. Their stories make no claim to objectivity; rather they are about subjective experience. But taken together they form a sort of mosaic that captures some of the complex reality of this place we call home.