New research by global workplace provider Regus reveals that workers globally (16%) are most likely to work overtime on Monday. What’s more, while most people put in 2-4 hours extra each week, a committed two fifths work a full extra day – or even more – every week.
The research, which surveyed over 44,000 business people from more than 100 countries, including 349 business professionals in Hong Kong, reveals that working long hours has become the norm, with most workers putting in at least a small amount of overtime every week.
The situation in Hong Kong is more concerning, with 27% of respondents confirming they tend work overtime on Monday. That percentage is even higher than their counterparts in Mainland China, where 25.8% of respondents stay late on Mondays to catch up on work that built up over the weekend.
Worse still, more than one in ten (14%) respondents in Hong Kong are teetering close to burn out and putting in over 15 hours in a week – basically working the equivalent of a seven-day week. The result echoes with the latest Public Policy Studies findings that showed 35% of surveyed respondents have to work more than 50 hours a week.
Looking at the highest percentage of overtime hours across key Asia Pacific markets, Hong Kong is the most hard working market with 20% of respondents working 4-6 hours of overtime a week. The majority of other key Asia Pacific markets work 2-4hours overtime a week.
“While the commitment of workers is admirable, it is worrying that a small proportion of Hong Kong professionals are working the equivalent of a seven-day week! While it can’t be healthy to carry out so much overtime, it is also true that the location this work is carried out in plays an in important role in contributing to worker wellbeing,” said John Wright, Chief Executive Officer, Regus Asia-Pacific.
| Hours of Overtime (s) | Global Average | HongKong | Mainland China | Japan | Singapore | South Korea | Australia |
| a. ≤ 1 | 12% | 12% | 18.5% | 16.3% | 17% | 13.8% | 11.6% |
| b. 2-4 | 19% | 18% | 31.8% | 24.8% | 22% | 31.9% | 19.1% |
| c. 4-6 | 17% | 20% | 16.6% | 13.9% | 15% | 17.7% | 15.7% |
| d. 6-8 | 15% | 19% | 12.6% | 11.1% | 14% | 12.1% | 14.9% |
| e. 8-12 | 16% | 11% | 9.9% | 12.6% | 14% | 12.4% | 16.2% |
| f. 12-15 | 7% | 6% | 2.3% | 6.9% | 5% | 4.3% | 7.6% |
| g. 15+ | 14% | 14% | 8.3% | 14.4% | 13% | 7.8% | 14.9% |
(Source: Regus Survey, 2014)
See: Majority of MNCs in Hong Kong to Expect Increase in Use of Short-Term Assignments in 2016
Other key findings include:
“If workers are able to carry out an acceptable amount of overtime from a location closer to home, they will benefit from a shorter commute at the end of the day and more efficient use of their time. If instead, punitively long hours are combined with gruelling commutes, workers could be facing burnout all too soon,” Wrights added.
Also read: 80% Hong Kong Firms Are Now Shifting Productivity Focus to Value Results over Face-Time
