'No way this is sustainable': S’pore employee laments 44-hour work week

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New employee thinks 44-hour work week is unsustainable

In Singapore, full-time employees in office-based jobs tend to work from 9am to 6pm for five days a week, which equates to a total of 44 to 45 hours.

Lamenting the hours, a worker took to Reddit to question the sustainability of a 44-hour work routine.

Their commentary invited mixed reactions from netizens, some of whom said that the culture was typical or even worse in first-world countries like Singapore.

Barely has free time in 44-hour work week

Posting in the Singapore subreddit on Sunday (17 March), the OP shared that they had just begun working a full-time job.

Their days typically start at 5.45am. Struggling with the time crunch to be at the office by 7.30am, they barely have the time to eat breakfast.

They then went on about having to “stare at a screen in the office until 5pm”.

Even after the work day ends, they do not find much respite. According to the OP, they would find themselves stuck in the peak hour crowd, causing their commute home to be double the usual time taken.

Once they have settled down at home, they are left with only one to two hours of free time.

Moreover, the OP spends their weekends getting more sleep or engaging in activities they could not do during the weekdays.

The Redditor wrote: “Am I going crazy? There’s no way this is sustainable??”

Many resonate with experience

Their post invited a flurry of comments, with many resonating with the experience.

One user shared that they felt the same way back when they started their first job. However, they expressed that while the working culture in Singapore was “nuts”, flexible options such as working from home (WFH) makes it more tolerable.

Source: Reddit

In 2022, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang encouraged companies to adopt flexi-work arrangements such as four-day work weeks.

Another netizen chimed in about how it’s harder when one has loved ones that they have to spend time away from due to work.

Source: Reddit

Others say that Singapore’s working culture is normal

On the other hand, others pointed out that Singapore’s working culture, as described by the OP, is a norm especially among first-world countries.

Source: Reddit

One also took a more practical standpoint, commenting that most employees tend to get accustomed to the routine “because a job is what puts bread on the table”.