The overwork situation has affected the mental health of workers, leading to more employees leaving their jobs citing mental health reasons. The average working hours per week across countries such as Singapore, Australia, and Thailand are around 40 to 50 hours, which is higher than normal. The World Economic Forum estimates that the global economy could lose up to US$16T by 2030, if we do not increase our efforts to tackle mental health problems. 

In particular, the tourism industry has been hard-hit by Covid-19, and experienced labour shortages resulting from border closures. This affected movement of international labour, and consequently lowered demand for tourism. Instability in the retail and hospitality sector is hurting retention, with workers permanently leaving the sector, constricting labour supply over the mid to long-term. 

Frasers Property strives to actively manage workplace stress by varying our approach for both remote and frontline staff, which can differ for both types of workers. 

For remote workers, a large part of increased burnout levels is attributed to the lack of separation between work duties and personal obligations. This leads to longer working hours and negative impact on their well-being physically and mentally. 

For frontline workers, lockdowns and border closures from the Covid-19 pandemic has strained resources and created labour shortages, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors. Unemployment benefits, Covid-19 fears and delayed vaccine rollouts have also kept workers at home. As a result, remaining permanent staff are working longer hours and taking on multiple roles as companies utilise overtime to solve worker shortages. 

Q3) What is the resultant impact on employees’ work-life balance and mental health?

With the additional strain imposed on both remote and frontline workers caused by the pandemic, managers have had to quickly evolve their approach in the management of their teams to provide sufficient support and empathy to manage the constantly shifting circumstances and workload. This includes ensuring sufficient mental and social support from lesser in-person socialisation, and providing adequate support for remote working conditions. 

Leaders need to treat mental health as an organisational priority, in order for employees to have higher job satisfaction and for employers to see increased performances. While companies have increased investment in employee mental health, a contrast still exists between what employees are provided versus the resources that they desire.

Moreover, mental health care packages and insurance coverage for mental health conditions are often not included as a standard in company policies. The ability to access counselling and other related services should be made no more restrictive than insurance coverage for other medical conditions. 

Critically, companies must take active steps towards culture change. When mental health is prioritised and company leaders advocate for mental wellness at work, it helps to create an empowered network of “mental health champions”. This can be done by building a culture of connection through check-ins, by having regular personal conversations with colleagues. Organising employee engagement initiatives around mental wellness is another approach. 

Needless to say, an environment where people are empowered to ask for what they need and where honest conversations are judgement-free is beneficial. It is also necessary for leaders to role model healthy behaviours, for instance, actively sharing with their teams how they prioritise self-care and set boundaries between work and personal time.

Q5) What has Frasers Property done to address the issue of “Overwork”? 

In times of change, our shared purpose as a company and focus on nurturing a positive and constructive culture are even more important. The real estate business is fundamentally about the built environment and its relationship with people’s interactions. Frasers Property has embarked on a purpose-led journey committed to – inspiring experiences, creating places for good. We want to be a force for good in business, society, and the environment. That is why we are committed to evidencing our intent across environment, customer centricity and resilience.

Like many companies, we recognise employees as our most valuable resource. For us, beyond the health, safety and wellness of our employees, we also focus on workplace design, leadership and communications. To achieve our objectives, we have set some health and wellbeing goals:

• To transform our workplace by building a wellness culture that positively engages employees;
• To create awareness of health management, support mental wellness and foster a connected workforce; and
• To create a safe and inclusive working environment

Further initiatives have also been taken to understand and assess our employees’ mental health. The views and concerns of our employees views and important – regular feedback mechanisms such as media and social monitoring or culture and pulse surveys are deployed. We also had our group-wide culture survey in September 2021, to understand employees’ sentiments on working at Frasers Property. Moreover, our managers are also trained in emotional first aid, on what to do if they see signs of emotional distress or substance abuse. 

It is gratifying to see that our different business units are also prioritising personal wellbeing and mental wellness. Some of the initiatives include: 

• Frasers Property United Kingdom celebrated Mental Health Awareness Week in May 2021, with a series of a series of tenant engagement activities at their business parks to raise awareness for mental health and inspire positive action for well-being in the workplace.
• Frasers Property Industrial launched Australia’s first industry led National Mental and Wellbeing strategy in May 2021. It offered a unified strategy to approaching mental health and wellbeing designed across the road transport, warehousing, and logistics industries.
  
• Frasers Property Retail, in partnership with Care Corner Singapore, ran a community campaign for all Singapore-based employees called Caring for Mental Wellness & Beyond. Staff were encouraged to get active and exercise outdoors. For every kilometre an employee clocked from walking, running or cycling, $1 was donated to Care Corner Singapore’s Mental Health and Counselling Services group. In total, more than $20,000 was raised for this cause. 
  
• In the UK, our Frasers Hospitality team participated in the Burnt Chef Project, a non-profit social enterprise that aims to reduce the stigma of mental illness in the hospitality industry. Out support included redesigning menus to allow guests to donate directly to the Project with special items, supporting employee-led fundraisers as well as a donate button on all relevant websites.  

As we move forward and adapt to a new normal, it is necessary for us to continuously address issues surrounding overwork culture and mental health concerns as they emerge and evolve. This will require companies to stay close and listen to their employees, while balancing a culture of care with delivery against business goals and outcomes.