If you work at least 10 hours a day, plus weekends and work is constantly on your mind, you are probably a workaholic. Many Singaporeans fit this description unfortunately. Let’s see how they can achieve a better work-life balance.

By Lim Yan Wen

A “workaholic” as defined as “a person who works a lot of the time and finds it difficult not to work” in the Cambridge Dictionary. If you identify with most of the following characteristics, it’s more than likely that you are a workaholic:

• Take work home frequently.
• Work weekends on a regular basis.
• Client calls at midnight and is surprised you are not at work.
• Cannot remember a time when you last had dinner at home.
• Have skin as white as snow because you rarely see daylight. You can’t help it; you are
in the office early and only leave after the sun sets.
• Not only do you know the telephone numbers of all the delivery places around your
workplace by heart…they recognise your voice and know your regular order!
• Know the names and duty rosters of the cleaning crew in your office (who start work
at 9pm).
• Feel lost when not working.
• Mind goes blank if asked what you do outside of work.
• Social schedule revolves around work commitments.
• Can never clear annual leave or worse, you work even when on leave!

Singaporeans generally work long hours — many of us certainly put in more than the requisite eight hours a day. It comes to a point where some of us even compete to see who works the longest hours, or has pulled the greatest number of all-nighters. Some even feel guilty about going for a holiday.

There is that constant pressure to stay ahead of the competition — the all-too-familiar kia su syndrome — that extends to all aspects of our lives, from studies to business and politics. Put another way, many Singaporeans seem to feel that it’s a case of “you snooze, you lose.”

Not surprisingly then, Singaporeans have developed a work culture where employees are viewed as “good workers” if they put in long hours. Employers love it no doubt. To them, it’s not workaholism, it’s “dedication”. Heaven forbid if you should leave the office before your boss.

And it doesn’t help that with the rapid advancements in communications technology, people can now work anytime, anywhere. Broadband connections, 3G mobile phones, Blackberries and PDAs — a plethora of handy pocket-sized devices are now available to keep you chained to your desk, even when you’re on a well-deserved vacation.

Is it really inevitable?
To a certain extent, workaholism is probably an inevitable aspect of living in a densely populated, highly urbanized society. We are ruled by the clock, much more so than in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries — the deadlines are always tight, and the work always seem to have been due the day before.

We already take it for granted that everything moves very fast today, so much so that we no longer seriously question the need for companies to squeeze us into ever tighter schedules.

Not to forget that we’re human, and most of us are guilty of procrastinating on our work at one time or another, especially if it’s something we don’t particularly like to do. Poor planning and time management only adds to the perceived volume of work, so it’s no wonder many people seem to be perpetually buried in work.

Of course, it’s not all our fault. Employers should take a fair share of the blame as well. Sure, the business cycles are growing shorter, but that is a poor excuse for not making the effort to better organise the available human resources. When staff in a department are not aware of their overall goals, key milestones and the steps required to achieve them, then it is a sure sign of poor management within the company. Without clear direction, it’s very hard to expect the poor employee to figure out how to “work smart” instead of working hard.

And let us be even more forthright. It’s often the case that in order to keep labour costs down, some companies are deliberately refusing to hire the right number of people to get a job done. When staff go on long sabbaticals or take maternity leave, no temporary replacements are made. Instead, there is the common expectation that the remaining staff will chip in to get the work done.

It’s not good for you
So, what is wrong with being a workaholic? While it is commendable that a lot of Singaporeans are responsible, dedicated workers, doing anything to the extreme is definitely not healthy.

Long hours at work and work-related stress can result in health problems like chronic neck and back pain, depression and heart disease, amongst others. Having a bad work-life balance means little or no family time. In the long run, this will result in social issues where children are neglected and given material comforts instead of more time with their parents.

And on a larger scale, all work and no play simply makes Singapore a very dull place to be. We may have a bustling economy but that counts for nothing if the softer aspects like culture, the arts, sports, community spirit and humanitarian values are not developed hand-in-hand.

Now that we recognise that many Singaporeans are workaholics, what are the steps we can take to achieve a better work-life balance? Here are a few basic pointers that you can consider:

• Set a target time for starting and finishing work. This will help you to be more productive during the hours that you are in the office.
• Do not bring work home. Leave work behind once you leave the office and focus on other things completely unrelated to work, like time with your family.
• Learn some time management techniques in order to work more efficiently. One example is to prioritise tasks on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This will allow you to work backwards and determine what needs to be done by when in order to meet your goals.
• Get a hobby. Work hard but play hard too.
• Take time to unwind after work every day. Set a weekly schedule to go to the gym, play a sport, do some volunteer work, take the family out etc.
• Go out and eat lunch instead of eating at your desk. Use this break to get some fresh air and a breather from work. Furthermore, try not to talk about work. Discuss current news and issues or get to know your colleagues as people.

If you are part of your company’s management team, it is your responsibility to help your employees develop a good work-life balance. Cultivate an environment that facilitates this goal. Encourage workers to go home early once a week and organise activities around families, like excursions to the zoo, to illustrate the importance of family time and valuing life outside work. Set a good example by “walking the talk”. In a recent interview, the CEO of SingPost said that he makes it a point to leave the office early so that his staff will not stay back just because he was still around.

A lot of companies have recreation clubs that organise sports activities after work or during lunch, like aerobics or yoga classes, but in many cases employees are not able to attend because they feel they cannot get away from work. Encourage your staff to participate in these classes, perhaps by making it a team activity to exercise together on a weekly basis. This may have an impact on immediate deadlines but if this can be incorporated into work schedules, it will ultimately have a positive effect on staff morale and health in the long run.

In conclusion, work is only a means to an end. We work to live, and not the other way round. Once we realise that, we can take the necessary steps to develop a balanced life.

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