Overworking in Singapore Research Essay Example
Overworking is defined as full-time employees spending more than 48 hours a week at work (ILOSTAT, n.d.). According to Kisi (2021), Singapore was positioned 2nd as the most overworked city, with 25.1% of its population overworked in 2021. Overworking has taken a toll on employees’ mental health in Singapore, with some feeling stressed, depressed and helpless. The mental well-being of employees should not be neglected because it can affect their productivity and efficiency at work. This essay will describe the issue of overworking in Singapore, focusing on working adults under immense pressure due to overworking at the office and working from home (WFH). It will then evaluate the existing approach recommended by the Singapore government to improve the mental health of employees and propose a 4-day work week as an improved measure that can enhance the well-being of workers.
In Singapore, there has been an increasing trend of employees feeling burnout and fatigue, particularly during the COVID-19 circuit breaker period when WFH became the norm (Teo, 2020; Oh, 2021; Yang, 2022). Teo (2020) states that out of the 1,407 individuals involved in a study, 61% of employees WFH felt overwhelmed compared to 53% of front liners. She suggests that workers WFH were feeling overburdened because they had to struggle between juggling work and family simultaneously. Furthermore, Oh (2021) claims that 7 in 10 staff who participated in a poll mentioned about experiencing anxiety, and of the 7, one-fifth expressed that they felt “very stressed” in 2020 and the first three months of 2021. Similarly, one-third of respondents who completed a survey conducted by consumer research firm Milieu Insight reflected spending almost 10 hours per day at work, which is an 8% increase compared to working at the office (Yang, 2021). He finds that employees WFH might be working longer hours due to the increasing number of tasks, covering work left by their ex-colleagues and having difficulty striking a work-life balance. Even though WFH has its benefits, for instance, spending lesser money and time on travelling, it has inevitably taken a toll on workers’ mental health due to lesser personal time and increased workload.
Overworking has negative impacts on both the employees and companies. These negative consequences bring about damage to the mental and physical wellness of workers and increase turnover rates for companies (Mbabazi, 2022; Virtanen et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2020). Mbabazi (2022) indicates that overworking can be harmful to an employee’s mental well-being as it can lead to “depression and anxiety”. She notes that working longer hours might cause health complications such as dehydration and hypoglycemia due to some staff neglecting their meals and beverages. Likewise, Virtanen et al. (2015) reinforce that some workers may put their health at risk when they increase their intake of alcohol and abuse substances to relieve the stress from working long hours. Additionally, Huang et al. (2020) claim that there might be a “positive correlation” between overworking and high employee turnover rates. They believe that working long hours have resulted in a minority group of staff performing below expectations because they feel tired, demoralized, and inundated with pressure and tension. Hence, some employees may decide to leave a company that requires long working hours to protect their health and mind.
In order to mitigate stress levels and improve employees’ mental health, the Singapore government has recommended organizations to adopt iWorkHealth, a confidential online self-administered psychosocial health assessment tool that helps companies identify common workplace stressors (MOM, 2020; Abdin et al., 2019). This tool allows staff to fill up an online survey comprising 71 questions regarding “job demands, job control, job recognition, organization culture, and relationship with supervisors and co-workers” (iWorkHealth, 2022). Upon completion of the survey, companies would receive a report revealing the key factors causing workplace stress, the intensity of workplace stress, and the mental well-being state of their staff. The Singapore government encourages firms to review the results from the report and make amendments to their policies, such as reducing workers’ exposure to stressors (MOM, 2020). According to Abdin et al. (2019), iWorkHealth is a “reliable and valid instrument” because it is comprehensive, easy to navigate and pragmatic. However, one limitation of this tool is that questions of the survey are written in English, indicating that some employees who might have limited English ability would be left out. By using iWorkHealth, it would be deduced that higher job demand is linked with stress and anxiety while higher job control, caring culture and support from management might be associated with job satisfaction and contentment.
An improved measure that could further alleviate workplace stress would be proposing a 4-day work week for employees (Peters, 2018; Nova, 2021; Paul, 2019). According to Peters (2018), Perpetual Guardian, a firm in New Zealand, has reported that with a shorter work week, job stress was potentially reduced from “45% to 38%”, work-life balance grew from “54% to 78%”, and staffs’ commitment to work significantly rose from “68% to 88%”. She suggests that workers in the firm might have experienced increased productivity, heightened job satisfaction, and lowered stress levels after implementing a 4-day work week. Similarly, Nova (2021) claims that implementing a 4-day work week could allow employees to have more personal time and would minimize the probability of them feeling burnout and overwhelmed due to work. This would result in workers having better well-being, greater work-life balance, and higher productivity when working 4-days a week. Additionally, Microsoft Japan mentioned that its company productivity surged by “40%” when the 4-day work week was introduced (Paul, 2019). This shows that employees would become happier and more efficient without compromising the quality and productivity of their work when they work 4-days per week. Having a 4-day work week might bring better benefits such as reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, happier workers, and improved mental well-being for staff.
This essay has described how overworking have brought negative impacts on companies and affected the health of employees in Singapore. Overworking might have resulted in high resignation rates for companies and caused some workers to suffer from a nervous breakdown, anxiety, weariness, and stress. The essay has also evaluated and shown that iWorkHealth might be a more practical tool in identifying factors contributing to workplace stress, and the proposed 4-day work week could reduce the instances of staff feeling overworked and improve their productivity as well as their overall well-being. Drawing on the points discussed, it can be concluded that overworking may be detrimental to the mental and physical wellness of workers, and the recommended measure should be implemented to reduce the adverse effects of overworking.
