Too burnt out? SG workers have the worst mental health in Southeast Asia

Only 57% of employees rated their mental health to be “good,” “very good,” or “excellent.”

Singapore’s workforce has the poorest mental health in Southeast Asia, a joint study by consumer research company, Milieu Insight, and Intellect, has found.

According to the study, only 57% in Singapore rated their mental health to be “good,” “very good,” or “excellent,” which is lower when compared to other workforces like Indonesia (68%) and the Philippines (78%).

The study also found that 50% of employees across the region have felt burnt out from work at least a few times a month, whilst 41% said they “often” or “always” feel as though they cannot stop thinking about work.

The study found that employees are pushing themselves so hard at work to build a better life for themselves and their loved ones (58%), achieve a sense of accomplishment (53%) and earn more income (50%).

With fear of not being able to do well as their peers, young employees in Singapore aged 16 to 24 (30%) also feel the need to work harder, according to the study. 

Whilst spending too much time at work, 26% are dissatisfied with their jobs, and only 42% are highly engaged at work.

Being too much of a hustler has also led to 52% of Singaporeans having a poor quality of life, with 30% saying they are not getting good sleep.

“While companies may be hesitant to invest in more robust wellbeing initiatives such as coaching or counselling, it is a necessary step in building workforce mental resilience,”  Intellect Co-founder & CEO of Intellect, Theodoric Chew, said.