This confession by an anonymous contributor reveals the working conditions that keep M’sians from getting paid for what they’re truly worth.
I should’ve known even from my probation period itself—the red flags were all there. But like any bright-eyed, hopeful new hire, I ignored them. I thought I was getting into a promising gig—a Malaysia-based B2B marketing agency with cool US-based clients and exciting tech industries.
Turns out, I had just sold my soul to a digital marketing sweatshop.
On paper, Adaptive Solutions looks like a dream. “Do more with less,” their favorite tagline boasts, like some kind of Silicon Valley TED Talk mantra. What they really mean is “Do more work. With fewer resources. For the lowest possible pay.”
That last part? Yeah, they leave that out.
Welcome to the World of Wage Arbitrage, Baby
Here’s how the game works. In the US, hiring a marketer—a copywriter, a content strategist, a data analyst, or whatever LinkedIn-optimized title there is—costs around $5,000–$6,000 per role per month.
Over here? Adaptive Solutions pays RM4,000–RM6,000 per role, possibly even less. That’s less than a quarter of what our US counterparts are making, even though we’re doing the exact same work.
And oh, it gets better. They don’t just sell one person to a client. They sell entire teams.
Imagine this: a 10-person marketing team, doing everything from email campaigns to content marketing to data analysis. Clients think they’re getting a steal—a “fully-equipped” team at a fraction of the US cost. What they don’t realize is, while they’re being charged the lower-end of US market rates, employees here are getting paid peanuts, and the company is pocketing the difference.
Or maybe they know, but don’t care.
But let’s do the math. If they’re profiting RM20,000 per employee per client, and they’ve got over 100 clients… Yeah. I’ll let you sit with that number.
Where Does the Money Go? (Not to Us, That’s for Sure)
With all that cash rolling in, you’d think employees would see some of it, right?
Hah. Cute.
Annual bonuses? Nope.
13th-month salary? Never heard of it.
Upskilling, training, career development? As mythical as a four-day workweek.
Instead, they shower us with incentives like pizza parties and annual dinners, where we sit through some over-rehearsed CEO speech about “global expansion” and “exciting new investments”—all of which take place in the US, of course.
Nothing to do with us. Nothing we’ll ever benefit from. Just a fun little update on how our labor is making rich white people richer.
The Promotions That Never Come
The only way to earn more? Get promoted. But here’s the joke—they make it impossible.
First, they hit you with the vaguest performance metrics ever. Something like “demonstrate leadership capabilities and impact.” What does that even mean? No one knows. But you grind away anyway. And just when you think you’ve made the cut, they move the goalpost.
Suddenly, what was enough last quarter isn’t anymore. Now they want more. But they won’t tell you what more is. They just let you keep guessing, keep hoping, keep burning out.
Meanwhile, promotions go to the favorites. You can practically see the office politics playing out in real-time.
A Promotion That Was Never Meant to Happen
I know, because it happened to me. Instead of giving me proper milestones, they passed me around from one senior to another with vague requirements—each one moving the goalpost just a little further.
First, I had a sit-down with my direct manager. “You’re doing great,” she said. “Just need a bit more leadership presence.”
Alright. So I doubled down. Led meetings. Took charge of projects. Became the unofficial mentor for newer hires.
Then, a few months later, another senior stepped in. “You’ve definitely grown,” he assured me. “But let’s work on your stakeholder management skills.”
Fine. I played along. More one-on-ones with clients. More proactive updates. More walking on eggshells.
By the time I met the third senior, the story had changed yet again. “You’ve got potential, but let’s make sure client delivery is rock solid first—no issues at all.”
That was a year ago.
I never got promoted. But I did learn something: The game was rigged from the start.
So, I did the only thing that made sense.
I left.
Why No One Gives a Shit Anymore
The sad thing is, in the first few months, people actually try. They work late, they go the extra mile, they sit through town halls, nodding along like eager little worker bees. Then, reality sets in.
After the third town hall about some “exciting US investment” that has zero impact on our lives, people stop pretending to care. When the company does another one of its “monthly vibe checks”—a weird attempt at corporate therapy that fixes absolutely nothing—everyone just zones out.
Asking for a raise? LMAO. Why get your hopes up? No one gets more money unless they leave. And everyone knows it.
Watching a Friend Fade Away
I know this because I still have a friend stuck there.
She’s smart. Talented. One of the hardest-working people I know. But every time I check in on her, she looks more drained. More distant.
At first, she was just like me—determined to prove herself. But I’ve seen the cycle repeat itself: vague feedback, nitpicking over small things, making her feel like she’s never quite good enough. It’s subtle at first, just a few comments here and there. Then it starts to feel like every mistake is a personal failure.
Now? She’s given up.
She does the bare minimum to get through the day. She doesn’t speak up in meetings anymore. She doesn’t ask about promotions. She’s stopped hoping.
And that’s exactly what they do—gaslighting employees until they are too exhausted to push back, too broken to ask for more, too beaten down to believe they deserve better.
That’s how you get a compliant, cheap workforce.
I feel bad for her. Honestly, I feel bad for everyone who still works there.
But I also know she—and everyone else—have to see it for themselves.
The Only Way to Win is to Leave
If you’re still at Adaptive Solutions, chances are:
- You’re actively job hunting.
- You’re counting the days until you quit.
- You’ve emotionally checked out and are now just a hollow shell of your former self, waiting for a sign from the universe to finally pull the plug.
The smart ones don’t wait for change. They realize their worth and GTFO. Because that’s the thing about companies like this, they thrive on employees believing they have no other choice.
But the moment you realize you do?
Game over.
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