Enough-is-enough: How far can your work limit go?

We all idolise countries that practise a healthy balance between work and life, generous paid leave, shorter working hours, and other benefits. Unsurprisingly, the Scandinavian countries rank among the highest in the World Happiness Report five years in a row. In comparison, 70% of Singapore employees have poor work-life balance due to their overwhelming workload.

According to a survey by Randstad, 33% of local respondents work overtime in Singapore because their bosses and colleagues send emails and text messages at night and on weekends.

Image: Randstad

Most Singaporeans struggle to define personal time beyond after-work hours, even when they work from home. Most feel pressured to respond to queries or requests after traditional working hours, or find difficulty detaching themselves from work because they are worried about looming deadlines.

A Reddit post by @galaxy_888 listed a few “triggering” office moments in a thread. These included receiving texts or calls on the weekends and having meetings scheduled out of the blue with no explanation or agenda.

In contrast, another user who also works for a German company with German bosses received an email informing him to relax more and respect work-life boundaries.

Micromanaging is another common concern amongst most Singaporeans.

31-year-old Ms Wong had to constantly update her employer on what she was working on via a designated group chat. Michelle*, a graphic and web designer also mentioned that her senior manager had said “I know you all at home have nothing to do, very free.” An interview with Faris* also added, “If you require people to physically be around to delegate work, it’s bad management. If an employee’s performance is measured by the number of hours he or she spends physically in the office instead of the results he or she produces, then the organisation and its leaders should really ask themselves if they have a resistance to work-from-home or hybrid because it is difficult to manage their employees, or is it because they feel they’re losing money by paying people who for sure won’t be working 10 am to 5pm, Monday to Friday because the boss isn’t looking?”

38% of respondents in the Randstad survey stated that “friendly bosses and co-workers” made for a better workplace culture, and a pleasant work environment. 4 in 5 of the survey respondents also value flexible working hours, but reportedly 60% were given this autonomy by their employers.

With ever-changing times, companies should consider being flexible and taking into consideration their employees respective responsibilities out of their office hours.

Piao* a mother of two boys said: “I prefer the flexible hours if I’m given the option to choose, so I can still see my kids after school and not just come, quickly prepare dinner, and get ready for bed. Working from home and flexible hours support in raising young children and being part of the country’s productivity at the same time.”