Work-life balance in Malaysia second worst in the world

PETALING JAYA - Malaysia ranks second worst globally in terms of work-life balance among 60 countries.

According to a recent study by a global human resource services company, Remote, Malaysia is the worst Asian country in this index.

"The study aims to accurately represent the work-life balance of each country, reimagining the popular phrase 'work-life balance' to show how businesses in each country prioritise life over work.

"Malaysians were found to work harder than they should and have little to no time to rest and recover from long days and workplace stress," it said.

Remote's study analysed data collected in March 2023, considering several workplace-related factors such as the number of statutory annual leave days, minimum statutory sick pay, the number of statutory maternity leave days, percentage of pay for statutory maternity leave, minimum wage, healthcare, happiness index, average weekly working hours and same-sex relationships.

Based on this data analysis, Malaysia scored 27.51 out of 100 and recorded an average weekly working time of 40.8 hours, with a minimum wage of USD1.07 (approximately RM5.04) per hour.

Malaysia also shares the title of the most overworked country with Mexico and Nigeria.

"Workers in Mexico, Malaysia, and Nigeria are the most overworked, each spending over 40 hours on average per week, including full-time and part-time employees," the report said.

Meanwhile, the countries that dominate the top five spots in the list are New Zealand, Spain, France, Australia, and Denmark, while the top three Asian countries are Taiwan (16th place), Singapore (19th place), and South Korea (32nd place).