You may just be one of the 70% overworked Malaysians suffering from work-related stress, according to a global survey in 2015. Overworking, as far as Malaysian workers are concerned, has became a huge issue as studies reveal that employees who work more than eight hours daily are likely to be exposed to the risk of mental and physical health issues.
Unsurprisingly, we do have law regulating the welfare of the nation’s workers, the Employment Act 1955, which clearly states that unless under specific circumstances, Malaysians can only be asked to put in 10 extra hours a week. With that said, it isn’t rare for employees to clock 12 working hours a day, consequently building up to 60 hours in a week.
“This trend is rising partly because of economic issues, where low-income earners have to meet their families’ needs,” said Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Ravindran Naidu. Research has also revealed that overworking has led to high productivity loss within the nation.
Health specialists are concerned that the persistence of the situation will lead to much worse consequences, such as workers committing suicide due to all the buildup of work-related stress. Many of us in Malaysia don’t work the usual 9 to 6, and this of course aggravates the issue.
“For many workers, their days-off are on weekdays and rarely on weekends. This has been cited as a reason for their depression as they have no social life. This kind of issues must be addressed,” mentioned the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Abdul Halim Mansor.
What’s worse is – even on their days-off, employees are asked to be on “stand-by”, compelling to the stress as they are never mentally “off-work”. Putting your mind at rest and having a social life is just as important, everyone!
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