Get a life: More than 8 out of 10 Singapore professionals are overworked, reveals study

Local workers are struggling to balance work and personal life.

The majority of Singapore’s professionals are working longer than their contractual hours. Morgan McKinley Working Hours Survey 2014 revealed that 82% Singapore’s professionals say that they are working in excess of the hours stipulated in their contracts.

The survey also revealed that nearly two thirds (65%) of Singapore’s professionals say they feel obligated to work longer hours but only 28% believe they are more productive during these extra hours compared with their Asia Pacific counterparts in Australia (55%), China (39%), Hong Kong (37%), Japan (36%).

The overwhelming majority (85%) of respondents feel that excessive working hours are having an impact, upon their work/life balance. Despite this, Singapore’s professionals are continuing to work even when not at the office, with 72% of respondents saying they continue to work from home or on mobile devices.

Even with the long hours working culture, the survey revealed that just over half (54%)of respondents are aware of flexible work options at their organisation, with work from home being the most common (41%), followed by flexi-time (32%) and part-time (12%).

However, over a quarter (26%) of respondents say there are currently no flexible work arrangements at their organisation, whilst 20% say they are unaware of flexible options available to them. 

According to Andrew Evans, COO, South Asia, Morgan McKinley, “Whilst the average professional in Singapore seems dedicated to working extremely long hours, our survey highlights that many professionals are indeed disgruntled with the work-life balance issue. Unfortunately, there is not much choice at the moment . Whilst a minority of companies are able to offer working from home or flexi hours, clearly in the overall majority this policy is not currently implemented well or deemed acceptable by senior management.”