The survey among 12,000 businessmen in 85 countries also revealed that a third regularly takes work home to finish it in the evening, while almost 40 percent are working between nine to 11 hours a day.
According to the survey, pressure on working hours has increased in recent years because of slow economic recovery in big companies and the very rapid growth in emerging ones.
Arab News spoke to Samir Hussein, HR consultant and CEO of a private company in Jeddah, who confirmed that most workers preferred to work overtime to get paid more than their stipulated salaries.
“Some workers try to work longer hours to get paid extra. In addition, expatriates living in the GCC without their families prefer to spend their time working,” he said.
He added, “Companies should ask workers whether they are ready to work more or not. It is their choice, and overtime should not exceed 25 percent of the worker’s original working hours.”
According to Hussein, another group of workers prefers not to work overtime, but they are sometimes forced to do so because of deadlines.
“Most big companies follow the rules on workers’ rights, but it is different in small companies. The Ministry of Labor recently decided to establish a committee in each company to observe and ensure the workers’ rights. Big companies already have these committees, but small companies do not. It is required and important to appoint such committees in small companies as well,” he said.
The survey confirmed that only five percent of women work 60-hour weeks compared to 12 percent of men globally. This means the rate of workers who work 8 hours is limited.
According to Hussein, working extra time is also common among women in Saudi Arabia. “The law doesn’t distinguish between women and men.”
He confirmed that most managers — both men and women — work more than eight hours in order to get a promotion or increase their budget, taking the benefits subsequently.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Hamed, head of the psychology department at Bakhsh Hospital in Jeddah, confirmed that working many hours might damage one’s health. Men are more likely to work overtime than women, especially those aged between 30 and 40.
“There is an increased risk of psychological and organic diseases among people working over 11 hours a day. Those who are working overtime may suffer sudden death from heart attacks or strokes. I received many such cases in my office,” he said, adding that working overtime could also affect the worker’s lifestyle and performance both at home and work.
“Most cases I receive are people suffering from general anxiety and depression, because of being required to work long hours.”
According to Al-Hamed, people who work for long hours and don’t get paid or appreciated have a higher risk of getting ill.
Many organic diseases occur among people who are under extreme pressure at work. These diseases include ulcer, diabetes, blood pressure and heart diseases, and they affect both Saudis and expatriates.
“The new lifestyle forces all people, including Saudis, to educate their children in international schools, have a luxury car and live in a big and nicely decorated house. These things force people to spend longer hours at work to make enough money,” he said.
