A Malaysian employee recently shared how they were asked to contribute a large sum of money for a colleague’s office crush’s birthday.
“In the workplace, the most dreaded hidden expenses are farewell parties, weddings, and birthdays — especially when it’s for colleagues you’re not even that close to,” the worker wrote in a Facebook post.
The employee claimed that a colleague requested RM300 from them to help buy a speaker for a woman in the Human Resources department — someone the colleague allegedly had a crush on.
“Bro… RM300 is almost two weeks’ worth of food for me, and you want me to chip in just so you can impress a girl?” he wrote.
The irony, according to the employee, was that the colleague and the HR staff member didn’t end up together despite the costly effort.
“She celebrated her birthday dinner with another guy. Then she resigned and joined a different company.
“And the guy? Still single. Still working at the same company,” he added.
Netizens were amused by the story and largely agreed that it’s unnecessary to spend a significant amount of money on someone you hardly know.
“There are still so many people like this — they want to celebrate their birthday but don’t have the money, so they expect their friends to chip in and help them celebrate…” one user commented.
“I’ve experienced this before — it was my general manager’s birthday, and everyone chipped in. And then what happened? The person who suggested the idea got a RM500 raise, and the rest of us? Nothing at all,” another shared.
“RM300 is my monthly insurance payment. If it’s with close friends, I don’t mind chipping in for a meal or drinks — but for something that expensive? Yeah, no thanks,” one more user wrote.