China is in the grips of an overwork epidemic as a recent, tragic case illustrates. Li Jianhua, a senior employee at the China Banking Regulatory Commission, died at his desk in April while rushing to finish a report before sunrise. An estimated 600,000 Chinese citizens die each year from ”work exhaustion”, according to the China Youth Daily, which is a staggering indictment of a relentless work culture.
Other Asian countries also tend to work very long hours. South Korea tops the 34 members of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with its workers averaging 51.1 hours per week at work. The picture is different in parts of Europe, notably in Germany, one of the strongest economies in the world. There, workers’ average 37.1 hours a week.
Average working hours in the UAE are higher than in Germany but less than Asia. There is no doubt, however, that with our countrywide addiction to smart phones, most office workers will profess to being a lot busier in their work, and “on the clock” for longer, than they were even a few years ago. Whether they are more productive is a moot point, and is especially relevant at this time of year when we are all required to make adjustments to our work-life balance.
One of the many charming aspects of Ramadan is the reduced working hours imposed in workplaces throughout the holy month.Typically this will mean that office workers are required to work 30 hours a week rather than 40 or more. Anecdotally at least, many workers enjoy the different pace of work during Ramadan and consider themselves more productive and, perhaps, less stressed at work. A survey published this month by Bayt, a regional recruitment website, found that the vast majority (95 per cent) of respondents exhibited higher morale at work during Ramadan.
We don’t have enough data to truly know the impact of Ramadan working hours, but we do know that the holy month is a time when we all live and work a little differently from the rest of the year and enjoy the benefits of that break from the norm.
Surely it’s time that we studied other working models in greater depth to find the one that can deliver increased productivity without risking burnout or overwork.
