‘I want my life back!’: 80% of Singapore workers long to disengage after official hours

THE desire to disconnect is strong among employees here, with a recent survey showing that 80 per cent believe they should have the right to disconnect from work outside of official hours. The report also found that working after hours in Singapore is common, with 93 per cent of employees saying they have done so.

The survey from hiring platform Indeed shows that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents say they always work beyond their official finish time. Meanwhile, 39 per cent sometimes do, and 30 per cent occasionally do. The study surveyed 500 employees and employers each across industries such as professional services, built environment, public and social services, creative industries, and transport and logistics.

Fear of repercussions

A majority (71 per cent) of employees believe there would be negative repercussions if they failed to respond to work after hours. These include hindrance to promotions or salary hikes (40 per cent), delays in project progress (39 per cent) and potential damage to their reputation or job security (35 per cent). This reinforces the pressure many feel to remain connected outside of contracted work hours, said Indeed.