S'pore the second hardest-working city in Asia-Pacific, behind Tokyo

We had the biggest percentage of workers clocking more than 48 hours a week, however.

Guan Zhen Tan | December 07, 2019, 01:52 PM

Singapore is the second most hardest-working city in the Asia-Pacific region.

This is based on the results of a recent study by Kisi, a cloud-based keyless access control system providing mobile-first security solutions.

Instant Offices, a company that manages serviced office spaces and co-working spaces internationally, have analysed data from the study to produce a work intensity score.

Tokyo topped the chart with a score of 100 while Singapore scored 95.4 in second place and Kuala Lumpur ranked fourth with a score of 93.3.

Based on factors affecting work in the city

The work intensity score is influenced by several factors:

  • Length of commute
  • Arrival time at work
  • Hours worked per week
  • Vacation days taken

In total, 40 international cities were involved in this study.

The hardest working APAC cities in the list include Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne.

Kuala Lumpur has the longest working week

Interestingly, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has the longest working week amongst all of the cities, clocking in at 46 hours worked per week.

Singapore followed closely behind at 44.6 hours. Hong Kong and Tokyo clocked 44 and 42.1 hours a week respectively, and Sydney and Melbourne both clocked 39.8 hours a week.

Screenshot via Instant Offices' press release

Kuala Lumpur also sees the least number of vacation days taken annually at 12.3, followed by Melbourne at 13.8, and Sydney closely behind at 13.9. Tokyo and Singapore both see 14 vacation days being taken annually, while Hong Kong sees 14.2 vacation days a year.

Screenshot via Instant Offices' press release

In terms of average work arrival time, Tokyo is the city that starts work the earliest at 8:57am, followed by Kuala Lumpur at 9:00am.

Sydney follows closely behind at 9:04am. Melbourne and Singapore have people arriving at work at 9:30am. and 9:34am. respectively, while Hong Kong starts work the latest amongst the six Asia-Pacific cities at 10:30am.

Screenshot via Instant Offices' press release

Tokyo also has to spend more time commuting to work, topping the list at 51 minutes on a one-way commute to work. Singapore follows behind with 44.5 minutes, and Sydney at 41.6 minutes.

Screenshot via Instant Offices' press release

Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur see the shortest commute time to work, at 38.1 minutes and 38 minutes.

Singapore tops the list of cities in the percentage of workers putting more than 48 hours a week, at 23 per cent.

Kuala Lumpur follows closely behind at 22 per cent, with Tokyo and Hong Kong at 20 per cent. Sydney and Melbourne both had 13 per cent, the lowest out of the six cities.

Screenshot via Instant Offices' press release

You can see the full study here.

Top image via sasint on Pixabay