NEWS
Recession lengthens the working day
Malaysian candidates working longer hours

June 09 Malaysia | The economic downturn is making people work harder, according to a survey conducted by international recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.

In an online web poll, professional candidates from 17 different countries were asked whether they were working harder as a result of the downturn. Of 2,600 respondents, more than half (55%) said they were working more hours per week: 24% of respondents said they were putting in at least 3 hours extra per week and one fifth (21%) of all respondents said they were staying in the office between 8 and 10 hours more per week.

In Malaysia, more than half the respondents (58%) claimed to be working between 1 - 10 hours more a week. At least 25% of Malaysians said they were clocking 8 – 10 hours of overtime per week, although there were also a good number of people (42%) who said they were still working the same number of hours.

Professionals in Hong Kong felt the greatest impact of the downturn and were working the longest hours. One third of respondents (33%) said they were working on average between 8 and 10 hours per week.

Ross Mckenzie, Country Manager of Robert Walters Malaysia commented:
“You might expect people to work harder in a recession but what is interesting is the amount of extra hours professionals are working. The fear of redundancy obviously has an effect; many people feel that by putting in more hours, they will be less likely to lose their jobs should further cost cutting prove necessary. In addition, where job cuts have already taken place, those left are inevitably required to take on more work.”

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Source : Robert Walters