Asian employees open to 4-day work week — Milieu survey
Employees across Asia — specifically in Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia — expressed an interest in adopting a four-day work week, according to a survey published by research firm Milieu.
In Singapore, more than three in four (76%) individuals expressed great interest in jobs that are providing three-day weekends to workers.
Jaya Dass, Managing Director at recruitment agency Randstad Singapore, said that mature economies are starting to see the quality of having a work-life balance.
However, not all Southeast Asian workers were enthusiastic about this concept.
Milieu reported that only 48% of Malaysians were highly interested in the idea. Meanwhile, Myanmar and Cambodia, where many workers hold blue-collar jobs, showed even less interest in the concept.
Dass explained that the desire for work-life balance is lower in these countries because they believe that longer hours means more money.
A report by CNBC states that Asia is lagging behind Western countries. Iceland and Spain have been experimenting with the four-day work week since 2019 and 2021, respectively. Belgium recently passed a labor reform that allows employees to apply for a four-day work shift.
Further, the United Kingdom launched a six-month four-day work week trial that aims for employees to work 32 hours a week without changes in their salaries and benefits.
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