Hong Kong Staff Among Most Overworked In Asia Pacific

HONG KONG – A study by coworking space operator The Instant Group showed that Hong Kong workers are unhappier and more overworked than most of their peers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday morning (8 June, SGT).

In fact, employees in Hong Kong spend an average of 41 hours at work per week – the third highest in the region. Moreover, nearly three quarters of them are unhappy with their jobs and only 28 percent are happy at work, making them the 3rd most dissatisfied workforce in Asia Pacific.

Meanwhile, staff in Singapore were discovered to be the most overworked, spending 45 hours per week and having only seven days of annual leave. They were the 2nd most unhappy employees, with just 27 percent finding joy in the office.

As for mainland Chinese workers, they were found to have the 2nd highest workload in the region, usually clocking up 42 hours per week and enjoying only five days of annual average leave. Merely 31 percent said they are happy with their job.

Meanwhile, South Korea is home to the unhappiest workforce as merely 21 percent of the respondents said they were happy, despite having shorter work hours of 38 hour per week and 15 days of annual leave.

The research is crucial amidst recent findings by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) that longer working hours had raised mortality rates in the region by 29 percent between 2000 and 2016.

“Being overworked compromises work-life balance and can be demotivating, but it’s also dangerous,” said The Instant Group, a coworking space operator based in the UK.

“A recurring trend in our data showed that the higher the weekly working hours, the lower percentage of happy workers. With the added pressure of low annual leave entitlement – overworking can quickly become unhealthy,” it added.

In the study, The Instant Group compared the working hours, holiday entitlement, and workplace happiness of employees across 10 markets in the Asia Pacific region.