MALAYSIA’s work environment is fast becoming toxic. Here, the overworked slog from one pay cheque to another pay cheque, with less than seven hours of sleep in any one 24-hour period.
Then there is the traffic snarl to put up with, to and from work. Call it death by pay cheque. This is no mere survey of an online kind. The Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace survey — commissioned by AIA Vitality 2019 in partnership with research agency RAND Europe — comes with the claim that it is the only comprehensive science-backed workplace survey of the kind ever conducted in Malaysia.
Employers and employees must worry themselves into quick action. And so must the government. First, the employers. Employers know this: a healthy worker is a wealthy business. A toxic work environment ultimately leads to chronic diseases. Much of it is due to stress at the workplace. Other surveys done in the past consistently show this up.
What’s more, the employers foot the bill in one way or another. In medical bills, absenteeism, staff turnover and reduced productivity. The World Economic Forum puts the global healthcare spend at a whopping US$6.5 trillion (RM26.9 trillion). And three-quarters of this go to chronic diseases.
The solution to control healthcare is no rocket science. All employers need to do is change workplace practices. Not that they are clueless.
Consider the case of Health Safety and Environment (HSE) as a corporate function. Many companies — especially the big ones — trumpet the function with awards won for this and that. Many of the accolades are genuine, but they are mostly about how safe the companies’ operations are.
Not how the companies keep the workers healthy. Time for employers to give the “H” of the HSE equal, if not more emphasis.
Employees shouldn’t make too much about Elon Musk’s 90-hour workweek either. There are two reasons for saying this. One, by his own admission, a 90-hour workweek is insane. Two, a University College London study points to some real danger in overworking: those who work more than 55 hours per week face the risk of a heart attack and stroke compared with those who work 35 to 40 hours per week.
This notwithstanding, it is not uncommon to find Malaysians working a 12-hour day or 60-hour week. This happens because either the employers demand it or the employees choose to. Either way, prolonged overtime will result in unwelcome outcome for both.
The Washington Centre for Equitable Growth (WCEG) in its report on Overworked America rightly says the media often frames overwork as a personal choice cured by better organisation, creative time management, or more caffeine. We agree. Like the WCEG, we think it to be an economic problem. Working long hours doesn’t bring any benefit to the employer nor the employee. Because, as the hours tick away, the gains to productivity decline. Overwork also means fewer jobs for others. Overall, the economy takes a hit. Policymakers must not surrender their role to the market completely. Because, if they do, the government will ultimately bear the cost. Japan and China have done so, much to their detriment.
They even have a word to describe death by overwork: karōoshi and guolaosi, respectively. We must find a cure for overwork before we say karōoshi in Malay. Otherwise, it will be death by wages.