{"id":17028,"date":"2022-06-06T16:05:47","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T16:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/?p=17028"},"modified":"2022-06-06T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T16:15:10","slug":"most-overworked-apac-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instantoffices.com\/blog\/featured\/most-overworked-apac-countries\/","title":{"rendered":"Which APAC countries are the most overworked in 2022?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Instant Offices compared average working hours, annual leave and workplace happiness to determine which APAC countries have the strongest culture of overworking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overwork culture: which countries live to work?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many Asian countries are well known for extreme work cultures that can tip the work-life balance scales. Some of the most overworked countries in the region work excessive hours each week, with places like Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines working up to 45 hours a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We combined this data with average annual leave entitlement and the proportion of happy employees across 10 APAC countries to identify those with the highest overworking scores overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countries ranked from most to least overworked<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
Location<\/strong><\/td>Working hours <\/strong>
per week<\/strong><\/td>		Average <\/strong>
annual leave<\/strong><\/td>		Proportion of <\/strong>
happy employees<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Singapore<\/strong><\/td>45<\/td>7<\/td>27%<\/td><\/tr>
China<\/strong><\/td>42<\/td>5<\/td>31%<\/td><\/tr>
Hong Kong<\/strong><\/td>41<\/td>7<\/td>28%<\/td><\/tr>
Malaysia<\/strong><\/td>42<\/td>8<\/td>36%<\/td><\/tr>
Thailand<\/strong><\/td>40<\/td>6<\/td>51%<\/td><\/tr>
Vietnam<\/strong><\/td>41<\/td>12<\/td>45%<\/td><\/tr>
S. Korea<\/strong><\/td>38<\/td>15<\/td>21%<\/td><\/tr>
India<\/strong><\/td>41<\/td>15<\/td>50%<\/td><\/tr>
Indonesia<\/strong><\/td>39<\/td>12<\/td>51%<\/td><\/tr>
Australia<\/strong><\/td>33<\/td>28<\/td>49%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Singapore is the most overworked country<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Singapore is widely known for having one of the worst cultures of overworking globally and ranks first on our list overall with some of the highest overall scores. Employees here work the longest hours each week, and around 7 in 10 are unhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Google searches for \u2018overworking\u2019 in Singapore have increased by 74%<\/a> since before the pandemic, and around 62%<\/a> of people admit to feeling burnout in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effects of working too hard<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being overworked compromises work-life balance and can be demotivating, but it\u2019s also dangerous. Last year, research from the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation revealed that longer working hours have increased mortality rates in the APAC region by 29%. Since then, more organisations have begun advocating for regulations and policies that reduce overworking and introduce more flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reoccurring trend in our data showed that the higher the weekly working hours, the lower the percentage of happy workers. With the added pressure of low annual leave entitlement – overworking can quickly become unhealthy. Malaysia, for example, has an average workweek of 42.3 hours and only 38% happy workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combatting the culture of overworking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways in which some of the most overworked countries in the APAC region can combat overworking, and some countries in Europe are leading the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France introduced a 35-hour work-week policy, while employees are entitled to a four-day workweek in Belgium. Both Iceland and Spain have been experimenting with reduced working hours each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Singapore, 76% of employees are interested in a 4-day work week, along with Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how companies can help employees stop overworking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n