ASEAN employees working the longest hours
- Justin Harper
- Topics: Asia-Pacific, Health and Wellness, Home Page - News, News
While Qatar leads the way with the world’s longest average working week with 49 hours, Asia dominates the lists with nine out of the top 10. All these countries work at least 45 hours a week, according to recent data published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Three ASEAN countries are in the top 10 – Myanmar (48), Brunei (47) and Malaysia (46). Two other ASEAN countries, Thailand and Singapore, are in the top 20, with an average of 43 hours spent at work each week.
But working long hours is no longer seen as a badge of honour. Instead, it is commonly accepted that productivity decreases as hours worked increases. Researchers have found that when employees are made to work longer than 40 to 50 hours per week, their total output will drop below the level it had been when only 40- to 50-hour workweeks were required.
On top of this, an overworked employee might be so tired that they mistakes that would take longer to fix than the additional hours worked.
The other countries in the top 10 are Mongolia, Brunei, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Mexico.
