Sleep-deprived Singaporean workers among most stressed globally: Survey

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans are not only sleep deprived, but they are also among the most stressed at work globally, according to a survey by health service company Cigna released on Tuesday (Mar 26).

Nearly 92 per cent of Singaporeans surveyed were stressed from work, which was higher than the global average of 84 per cent. Of this group, 13 per cent said that the stress they faced was unmanageable.

Singaporeans’ physical wellness index also dipped by 4.4 percentage points from last year, which the survey attributed to an increase in sleepless nights.

Of the 23 markets surveyed, Singapore had the fifth lowest wellness index, which was measured across five key indices — family, financial, physical, social and work.

Singapore fell by a place from last year as its wellness index went down by 1.7 points to 57.8. It ranked ahead of its Asian counterparts Hong Kong and South Korea.

The survey collated about 13,200 responses from over 24 countries, with a sample of 502 respondents in Singapore.

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KEY SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Only 55 per cent of respondents noticed that their colleagues were stressed. Witnessing workplace stress made 30 per cent of the respondents feel more conscious about managing their own stress.

• Only one-third of the respondents said they had a formal workplace wellness programme and only half of them participated. However, 44 per cent felt that these programmes were not focused enough on mental well-being.

• Singaporean women experienced more unmanageable stress at work, which led them to neglect their physical health more than men. Flexible working hours was the top desire for women, whether married, single or working mothers.

• Only 31 per cent of Singaporeans felt that they were financially ready for old age (life after 59 years old), as compared with the global average of 38 per cent.

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COMPANY LEADERS SHOULD ENACT CHANGE

Productivity will dip with a higher number of stressed workers, said Mr David Ang, corporate services director of Human Capital Singapore, a continuing education and training centre.

He noted that Singapore is doing “relatively-well” in terms of ensuring workplace well-being, citing examples of flexible work arrangements in some companies.

However, Ms Andrea Ross, managing director of training consultant The Career Establishment, pointed out that gender gaps in leadership roles, pay disparities and a glass ceiling play a part in placing unmanageable stress on women in the workplace.

“Companies are beginning to create better frameworks for taking care of their employees’ minds at work, but it will take time to get this openly discussed and as widely discussed as topics such as diversity,” Ms Ross added.

Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Anthea Ong said that company leaders have to take the lead to enact change.

“Workplace well-being should be a leadership priority, not simply part of human resources (HR). Very often, there is more focus on the word resource, rather than the human (aspect) in HR,” she said.

Workplace culture also conditions many to put up a strong front and not show signs of weakness, even if one is feeling stressed, added Ms Ong.

“Vulnerability will make it seem that you are not as competent. We tend to kill ourselves over this (expectations) and this needs to change.”

NMP Ong also called for more “inclusive workplaces” in Singapore where work-related stress is not seen as a taboo topic and employees can openly share their problems.