‘Japan has a 40-hour work week’: Singaporean questions why Singapore is still at 44 hours

SINGAPORE: Japan is famous for its intense work culture, so one Singaporean was surprised to discover that its legal work week is actually shorter than Singapore’s. After working there, he couldn’t help but wonder: why is Singapore still sticking with a 44-hour work week?

Sharing his experience online, the man said that while Japan has a reputation for long hours and overtime, its labour laws generally cap full-time employees at eight hours a day and 40 hours a week. 

Moreover, he shared that during his work assignment in Japan, any overtime beyond 40 hours had to be properly justified and approved.

“It seems Singapore is worse. When seconded to work in Japan, if I crossed 40 hours by too much, I had to send a request for approval to my boss stating why I OT. They also paid me prorated OT hours. When I came back to Singapore, no pay for my OT.”

He added that countries such as South Korea, China and Taiwan also have a 40-hour work week under their labour laws.

Beyond working hours, he also claimed that companies in Japan generally offered better employee benefits, although he did not go into detail about what those benefits were.

“I know in actual practice these countries work more than that, but why is Singapore at 44 and not 40, like the Asian standard in terms of law?” he asked.

“SG work ‘laws’ don’t even apply to everyone”

The post soon drew plenty of responses, with many sharing their thoughts on working hours in Singapore and abroad.

One commenter said they were surprised to learn that Japan’s official work week is shorter than Singapore’s. “Wow, didn’t know about that. In western countries the standard office hours are 9-5, but ours is 9-6. Some companies even do 8.30-6 or 9-6.30. I do think it’s horrible.”

Another shared, “Aussie is 38. Anyway, SG work ‘laws’ don’t even apply to everyone. Doctors and nurses are doing way more than 44h/week regularly without getting overtime pay lol.”

A third commenter compared Singapore with New Zealand. “In Singapore, sadly the culture also frowns upon employees offering to start work earlier. Back in New Zealand, it is the norm there to start work at 7am and end work at 4pm so that we can go to the beach to chill afterwards”

A fourth shared, “It really depends. Switzerland has 42h and while we usually work more between 9-10h per day, the employer is more flexible when you take off time to use up the accrued overtime. Rest of Europe has 38-40h week I think, cultural shift towards 4 day work week motivates employees to be more productive and enjoy the extra day off work – but for a cultural shift like this someone needs to start campaigning for it in politics.”

As per the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employees covered under the Employment Act who work five days a week or fewer can be required to work up to nine hours a day or 44 hours a week. 

Those who work more than five days a week can be required to work up to eight hours a day, with the weekly limit remaining at 44 hours.

Regarding overtime compensation, an employee is eligible to claim this if they are a non-workman with a basic monthly salary of $2,600 or less, or a workman earning a basic monthly salary of $4,500 or less.

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