Survey Shows That 57% of S’poreans Feel Guilty When They Take a Break from Work

Last Updated on 2022-10-04 , 12:34 pm

Ever taken a break from your long, mundane work routine, and felt a little weird about it?

A little guilty, even?

Well, if you do, don’t worry about some work addiction or whether you’re a budding workaholic in the making;

It’s actually pretty ‘normal’.

In fact, according to a new survey, a whopping 57 per cent wished they were doing something more productive when they do finally take a break.

That’s nearly six in 10 people here, holy cow.

Survey Shows That 57% of S’poreans Feel Guilty When They Take a Break from Work

A survey has discovered nearly six in 10 people here (57 per cent) wish they were doing something more productive when they do finally take a break.

In addition, around half of the 600 respondents in the survey claimed to have felt stressed at the prospect of doing nothing, while three in 10 admitted that they just didn’t know how to relax.

The survey was conducted in April on behalf of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), as it endeavours to encourage Singaporeans to de-stress and enjoy some downtime.

Inability to just… relax

In the survey, nearly three out of four people here (74 per cent) wished they could spend more time with their family and loved ones. But does the wish translate into reality?

Not really.

Around half of respondents felt trapped by a daily routine they could not escape, and when the survey analysed how a typical Singaporean spends all 168 hours in a week, the results were… startling, to say the least.

Apparently, only 2.8 hours (on average) were devoted to leisure time with family and friends, and it’s a figure exclusive of meal times.

That takes up barely 1 per cent of the entire week.

And it seems that the figure just about represents the nation’s incessant striving for excellence, which interferes with people’s ability to take a break with ease.

“I think what has happened over time is that with excellence… it’s all about productivity, doing more, getting more, having more,” Dr Sin Harng Luh, Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said in a panel discussion held by SDC on the survey findings.

And other authorities concur.

“And also in the broader sense, I also think we are very much driven by the so-called five Cs,’’ said Dr Tan Ern Ser, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology at NUS.

In this case, he’s referring to cash, car, credit card, country club and condominium.

“We all want to do better, we want to have a car, have an apartment and more cash, you know.”

Though really, it might not so much be an unwillingness to relax, but an inability to do so.

“Indeed, from the research, it is clear that Singaporeans yearn to break free from their stressful routines and spend quality time with their loved ones. Yet, it is important to note that such breaks need not require long hiatuses from our jobs,” said Ms Lynette Ang, SDC’s chief marketing officer.

So how on earth do you relax?

Well, Dr Sin has a suggestion.

“With our weekends packed, we don’t have spontaneity in our lives. We no longer have that kind of, ‘oh we have an evening off so let’s go to the beach, let’s just, you know, go to grandma’s house’, that sort of stuff,” she said.

“I think that as a society we need to begin to value and respect free time and time off and quality time. Just being with your family, just being yourself and appreciate and respect it and value it.”

And Dr Daniel Fung, chairman of the medical board at the Institute of Mental Health, adds that perhaps, one could just integrate the two aspects of life.

“That means creating a situation where when at work, you can also think about your family. Don’t just say that at work it’s work and then when it’s family time, it’s family time,” he said.

And I concur, considering how life’s all about achieving the perfect work-life balance.

Hard to find, admittedly, but then again we do have the rest of our lives to do so.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, remember? 🙂

So work when you’re supposed to work (with well-timed breaks to ensure maximum productivity, of course)…

And relax when you’re supposed to relax. And always remember;

Don’t cheat yourself.