The Paper Doll

I feel like such a petty person for even letting this get to me, but I honestly don't know who to talk to without sounding like I’m just jealous of her wealth.

I’ve been working with this colleague, let's call her "S", for close to a year. On paper, she’s everything society worships: Ultra-wealthy background (her grandparents own hospitals in China), a Master’s degree from NUS, and parents who are powerful politicians. For context, I come from a typical heartland Singaporean background where we believe in meritocracy—you work hard, you apply for BTO, you save up. I haven’t been bothered by the SES difference until I realized how she actually operates.

I knew she was rich, but seeing her work ethics in person was a total culture shock.

The moment she steps into the office, I feel so frustrated. She treats her job like a hobby she’s bad at. She literally just uses ChatGPT to copy-paste her workload, even for simple reports. When I try to guide her, she just scrolls on her phone and ignores me. But the worst part is the hygiene. You’d think someone that rich would be polished, right? Wrong.

It was a total sensory nightmare. She wears the same designer attire for a week straight without washing it. The smell of stale perfume mixed with sweat is everywhere because we sit side-by-side. She coughs and sneezes every 5 minutes without covering her mouth, leaving used tissues all over our shared desk. I tried my best to be polite and ask her to clean up, but she just expects me to tolerate it.

I thought I could just ignore the laziness, but this has backfired badly. Recently, she openly bragged about her "solution" to her expiring S-Pass. She announced she married a China-born Singaporean just to keep her residence here. She was quite uncouth about it... she openly admitted she doesn't love him and calls him the "obedient one," while she keeps other "handsome" guys on the side to make her feel beautiful. She winked and acted like she was a genius for buying her way into our country. Everyone else (because she buys them expensive lunches) just laughed like it was a normal joke, even my boss just chuckled. I felt so cheap.

Now I’m caught in a dilemma. I take pride in my career, but I’m thinking about my future in this company. If I stay, I have to sit across the table from a woman who mocks the very values my forefathers built Singapore on—hard work, integrity, and family. I duno how I can continue to work with someone who treats people and laws like items on a menu. Now I feel so naive for thinking "hard work pays off." Is this what corporate life is going to be like? Am I being a self-righteous hater for being bothered by her lack of morals and hygiene, or am I right to be disgusted? Please don't roast me as being jealous as I’m already feeling like my efforts are trash, so appreciate constructive comments to help me clear my mind.