Japan and South Korea battle entrenched mindsets as the younger generation pushes back against the overtime culture. The Straits Times takes a look at the situation in these countries and Singapore, and how some workers and firms are coping.

For litigation lawyer Ms Ho, 28, a typical work day begins at 9am. But there is no certainty over what time it ends.

Work could drag into the wee hours, and she is in her office till 2am or 3am when she has deadlines to meet.

“It’s the nature of the work… we are rushing to meet the court’s deadline,” said the lawyer of five years.

She tries to get out of the office to exercise and have dinner with friends, in an attempt to achieve work-life balance. But often, she will soon be back at her desk with her nose in files.

Data from the Manpower Ministry shows that last year, Singaporeans clocked an average of 45.6 hours a week from January to September. The weekly average for the whole of 2015 was the same.

This means Singaporeans clock an average of 2,371.2 paid hours a year – a figure higher than that in places notorious for their overtime culture, such as Japan and South Korea.

To alleviate the situation, the Government has stepped in with funding and incentives to encourage companies to embrace a more flexible culture to help workers achieve work-life harmony.

​Read also: Tiredness from overtime seen as badge of honour in South Korea

For instance, companies are encouraged to allow employees to work from home on certain days, or work more hours on some days in exchange for time off on another weekday.

The hope is that such measures will improve employee engagement and satisfaction, leading to higher productivity and staff retention for firms.

But some professions have a tougher time implementing such initiatives due to the nature of the work, said National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan.

Front-line officers, for instance, need to be at their workplace and cannot work off site.

“For this group of people, it is even more important for flexible timing to be put offically in place. If they cannot work from home, can they be given a few hours off if they need to run errands?” she said.

Using school teachers as an example, Dr Straughan said: “If they have some free time during the day when they are not teaching, it should be fine for them to use that time to run errands and attend to matters.

“They should not have to stay in school the entire time if they are already clocking such long hours.”

Teachers often start their day at around 6am and end only in the late afternoon or evening, as they juggle teaching and administrative duties like marking papers and organising activities.

It is up to companies to think up creative strategies and policies to help their employees maintain work-life harmony, Dr Straughan added.

For Ms Ho (who declined to give her full name), while she enjoys the challenges of her job, she acknowledged her work hours are not sustainable in the long term.

“Many of my peers are of the view that if we want to lead a healthier lifestyle, the best way may be to leave the profession altogether,” she said.

​Read also: Employees in Japan are on the clock – but off the record

leepearl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

In a dramatic collision with a car, a motorcyclist somersaulted into the air over the vehicle and landed hard on the wet road without his helmet – but fortunately for him, it ended well.

He is unhurt and “at home resting”, his employer, food delivery company Deliveroo, told The Straits Times.

The collision occurred at the junction of Tembeling Road and Koon Seng Road on Sunday.

A dashboard camera video posted on EverydaySG was viewed more than 100,000 times yesterday and had 2,000 shares.

Ms Neha Mathur, head of marketing at Deliveroo, told The Straits Times: “We’ve been in close contact with the rider and, following a medical assessment, we can thankfully confirm that the rider was uninjured in the accident.”

The video footage showed the car travelling on Tembeling Road and crossing Koon Seng Road when a motorcycle approached from its left and crashed into its side.

The impact threw the motorcyclist over the car and on to the other side. The driver and her passenger were then seen running to help the motorcyclist after the collision.

Nevertheless, online comments were divided, with netizens blaming both the motorcyclist and the motorist for the accident.

Some criticised the motorist for allegedly not stopping at the white line at the intersection’s stop sign.

Others said that she should have inched forward into the yellow box at the junction to check whether there was anyone approaching from the left.

Still others blamed the motorcyclist for not being cautious or slowing down as he neared the yellow box, which was on his right.

A resident in the area told The Straits Times that the junction where the accident occurred is “problematic” for motorists.

Those intending to go across Koon Seng Road are not able to see oncoming traffic on their left, even with wide-angle mirrors nearby.

Deliveroo said all riders are required to meet safety standards and abide by traffic rules.

It remains unclear what damage was sustained by both vehicles.

Police told The Straits Times that the 23-year-old motorcyclist was taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH). Investigations are ongoing.

A CGH spokesman confirmed that the motorcyclist was discharged the same day.

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Inflation expectations in Singapore inched up to 2.7 per cent from a five-year low of 2.63 per cent recorded in September 2016, a December 2016 survey by Singapore Management University (SMU) showed.

The new one-year-ahead median inflation is still lower than its historical average of 3.5 per cent and the more recent fourth quarter average of 2.72 per cent, the latest survey for Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (SInDEx) found.

Consumers polled in December 2016 were swayed by weakness in global growth, exacerbated by the uncertainties of global trade in the US and eurozone following the unexpected US presidential election outcome and Brexit referendum, the media release said.

A stabilising pound sterling and a slowly appreciating US dollar had an impact on the trade weighted Singapore dollar exchange rate, it noted.

Improving US demand and the consequent increase in oil and commodity prices meant that there was some, though moderate, risk from imported inflation.

This could potentially uplift prices, particularly core inflation (which excludes costs of accommodation and private road transport) in Singapore, it noted.

Pass-through costs for consumers were slightly higher as well, with a slight increase in accommodation costs, unchanged private road transport costs and slackening of labour market tightness, it said.

SMU assistant professor of finance Aurobindo Ghosh, who is the principal investigator of the SInDEx project, said: “Global growth is at a crossroads, with the nascent growth in the US seemingly a beacon of better days ahead.

“Any protectionist mindset might translate to a loss of opportunity of the stimulus spending and consequent continuation of the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

“Against this backdrop, it is to be expected that the consumers of a trade-dependent economy like Singapore would prepare for possible increase in overall price levels.”

The twenty-second wave of the quarterly survey was conducted online and polled about 500 randomly selected individuals representing a cross section of Singapore households.

They shared their views on expectations of inflation-related variables over the next year and next five years.

The five-year-ahead median headline inflation, or CPI-All Items inflation, in the December 2016 survey inched up to 3.5 per cent from 3.43 per cent in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, one-year-ahead median core inflation expectations in Singapore jumped to 2.82 per cent from its lowest ever recorded average of 2.47 per cent in September 2016, since the survey’s inception in September 2011.

The five-year-ahead median core inflation rate in Singapore rose to 3.36 per cent in December 2016 from 3.13 per cent in September 2016.

Singapore’s headline inflation in November 2016 crept up to 0 per cent year-on-year – the first non-negative reading in two years – from negative 0.1 per cent in October 2016.

Core inflation crept higher as well to 1.3 per cent last month, compared to 1.1 per cent the month before.

The Department of Statistics will announce the inflation rate for December 2016 next Monday.

chaihyn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on January 17, 2017.
Get The Business Times for more stories.

Although health problems plagued Mr Seah Chiang Nee in his last few years, the veteran journalist retained his keen intellect and kept abreast of current affairs.

The 76-year-old, who was South-east Asia’s first and longest-surviving heart transplant patient, died on Sunday morning at the Singapore General Hospital with his family by his side.

His long-time friends and former colleagues yesterday paid tribute to a man they described as a newshound, who started his reporting career in 1960 and did not stop writing until 2014, when his health deteriorated.

Mr Seah had been in and out of hospital since July for shingles and a prolonged episode of diarrhoea, said his wife Patricia Wong, 68.

She added that there were several instances over the past few months when she thought her husband would not make it – these false alarms had prepared her for the inevitable.

“We knew it was going to happen soon,” said Madam Wong.

“I guess the Lord has kept him (with us) for that long.”

In 1982, Mr Seah was diagnosed with cardiac myocarditis, a viral infection which damaged his heart, leaving him in need of a transplant.

The rare condition affected only 12 people here a year, and doctors told him he had just two years to live.

But in 1985, he met the late Dr Victor Chang, a leading heart surgeon who was in Singapore as former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s distinguished visitor.

The Sydney surgeon told him to seek treatment there.

Singaporeans, fellow journalists, family and friends helped raise $120,000 for his surgery.

On Oct 12 that year, Mr Seah received a new heart at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital from a 17-year- old Australian boy who had died in an accident.

It is rare for people who have gone through such operations to survive for more than 30 years.

But while the heart transplant extended Mr Seah’s life, the drugs he took to prevent his body from rejecting his new heart gradually damaged his kidneys, and he later suffered from renal failure.

Mr Seah began his journalism career in 1960 as a Singapore-based Reuters correspondent.

He stayed in the job for 10 years, and spent a portion of it in Vietnam, where he covered the Vietnam War.

He worked at The Straits Times as a foreign editor from 1974 to 1982.

He subsequently became chief editor of the now-defunct afternoon tabloid Singapore Monitor from 1982 to 1985.

In 1986, he started writing for Malaysian publication The Star, and his column ran till 2014.

In 2000, he started a current affairs news site, www.thelittlespeck.com

Mr Sia Chong Yew, 73, a former Straits Times senior editor, said Mr Seah’s mind remained stimulated even as his health weakened over the past few years.

The pair were part of a lunch group of former journalists who met from time to time.

Mr Sia said: “We chatted a lot about current affairs, both local and international.

It was always interesting talking to him and hearing him argue his point.

“Despite his illness, he kept track of events and was perceptive enough to analyse and think through various issues.”

Mr Sia said it was remarkable that Mr Seah set up a website later in life.

“He was an old-school journalist who picked up blogging,” he said.

Mr Lai Kwok Kin, 57, who runs a public relations company, said Mr Seah was a newshound. “His heart was always in journalism, but in the last few years, you could tell he was more subdued and less energetic.”

Mr Seah leaves behind his wife and their only son Pei Kwang, 37.

His wake is being held at Singapore Casket until tomorrow.

The funeral is on Thursday.

leepearl@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 17, 2017.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

SINGAPORE – A popular food centre at Bishan has been ordered to shut for one day on Jan 20 due to a rat infestation.

Besides the rodent infestation, Kim San Leng Food Centre had also accumulated demerit points from the National Environment Agency (NEA) for failing to handle its trash properly, resulting in the suspension of its licence.

These infractions were accumulated over 12 months, NEA said, resulting in $1,100 in fines for the food centre operator located at Blk 511 Bishan Street 13.

The operator of Kim San Leng Food Centre had accumulated 16 demerit points in a year, leading to the suspension.

Operators who accumulate 12 or more demerit points in a year may have their licences suspended for either one, two or three days, NEA said.

All food stalls operating within the premises will also have to cease operations for the same period.

grongloh@sph.com.sg