Friday, September 18, 2009

Are Singaporeans getting enough sunshine

Huh! Singapore is in the equatorial belt with lots of sunshine all year round. But, Singapore workers leave for work around 8 am and reach home around 8 pm and so they have not much chance to get sunshine except during the weekend. Singapore workers have little time for exercise and entertainment during the weekdays. With emphasis on increasing productivity,  this means workers have to put in more effort, which means more stress. Is there any study on whether the health of Singapore workers are deteriorating due to the long hours of work? Is work productivity affecting health of workers?

During the World Economic Forum 2009, it was mentioned that Asians save too much while Americans spend too much and that there has to be a balance. This mentality is not going to be easy to change unless governments play a role in encouraging more spending. Here spending, I do not mean reckless spending. For example, take time to go to the movies, go for holidays.There need to be time for relaxation and enjoyment or else the human spirit can just wane away.  Spend some money to buy strawberries or grapes, if you can afford it. It is true, if citizen save too much, then investments banks have to think of ways to invest this money and they can easily lose this hard earned money. There is first of all a fear in loss of jobs in Asian countries. Many had experienced poverty and hardship in previous generations and are afraid of losing their 'rice bowl'.

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