A Malaysian woman has gone viral after revealing that she turned down a RM7,000 monthly job offer, choosing to remain in her current RM5,000 work-from-home (WFH) position because she did not want to spend hours commuting to the office every day.
In a post on Threads, the woman explained that although the new role offered an additional RM2,000 in monthly salary, it required employees to work fully onsite with no flexible working hours. She said the daily commute would take at least two hours, making the higher pay less appealing.
After declining the offer, she claimed a recruiter from a recruitment agency called her “ungrateful” and told her she was unlikely to receive a better offer. The remark left her questioning whether she had made the right decision.
The woman later clarified that the comment did not come from the company’s human resources department. Instead, the company’s HR team simply informed her that the salary package was already generous and that it was a “take it or leave it” offer before accepting her decision to decline the position.
Her post quickly sparked debate online, with many netizens supporting her decision. Several said the extra RM2,000 could easily be offset by higher petrol, toll, parking and vehicle maintenance costs, not to mention the value of the time spent travelling to and from work each day.
Others said flexibility has become just as important as salary, especially for jobs that can be performed remotely. Some commented that once employees experience the convenience of working from home, it becomes difficult to return to a fully office-based role.
While some acknowledged that a RM2,000 salary increase is significant, many agreed that today’s employees are placing greater emphasis on work-life balance, flexibility and overall quality of life rather than focusing solely on higher pay.
