A Malaysian recently shared on Threads a relatable and thought-provoking experience from a job interview that has gone viral.
In a now-trending post, the job seeker recalled being asked by the interviewer if they were the type to “cepat koyak”—a slang term meaning easily affected or emotionally fragile.
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“I said, yes—I do get emotional easily. If someone scolds me, I might cry (though it depends),” she wrote.
“They looked worried when I said that. Like, “How can we hire someone who cepat koyak? You’re not ‘strong’ enough.”
“I’m not here to badmouth anyone, but honestly, I just find it funny that being able to “work under pressure” is treated like a basic job requirement.
“To me, that just reflects how dysfunctional the workplace is—they expect you to handle pressure, instead of fixing the environment that causes it in the first place,” her post read.
The post quickly went viral, igniting a fiery debate among netizens.
One user called shiznit.production suggested: “Pressure IS part of most jobs actually. But the actual problem is, a lot of the higher-ups don’t bother about how they can help their staff handle pressure. They just want results without offering that much mentoring or guidance. They lack real leadership skills. Which is why a lot of staff tend to burn out.”
“Sheessh, not really. Some jobs are high pace, demanding, it’s expected of you to be able to handle tasks under pressure. Sounds like you are the one that can’t cope with pressure yourself. But it’s okay though, that means the job ain’t for you,“_ aiyadz commented.
Is it emotional weakness—or are we just too used to calling dysfunction ‘pressure’?
