Almost half of Singaporeans work 10 unpaid hours a week: report

Singapore has the second-highest number of unpaid hours worked in Asia-Pacific.

Four in 10 (40%) workers in Singapore believe they work 10 unpaid hours every week, data from the  ADP® Research Institute’s People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View showed.

“The number of hours includes time spent working over lunch breaks and staying late after work,” the research institute clarified,

On the regional front, when the number of overtime hours is averaged out, it is estimated that Singapore workers spend 8.19 hours unpaid per week, ADP said.

“This is the second highest number of unpaid hours worked in the APAC region, after India (10.65 hours), but ahead of China (7.50 hours) and Australia (7.17 hours),” the institute added.

Yvonne Teo, vice president of HR, APAC, ADP said employers could alleviate overtime hours by ensuring that all workers have access to tools that maximise the efficiency and quality of the work they produce. 

“It is also important to set clear, reasonable expectations to help employees plan their workload properly and ensure tasks are equally distributed across team members. Lastly, companies should consider using automation or outsourcing aspects of their work to external providers,” Teo added.