Singapore workers still believe they can be happy at work, but nearly half feel burnt out, according to a new survey by Jobstreet by SEEK, highlighting what the company called a growing disconnect between expectations and day-to-day experience in one of Asia’s costliest cities.
The Workplace Happiness Index: Singapore, conducted with research agency Nature between October and November 2025, surveyed 1,000 people in Singapore’s employment market aged 18 to 64.
It found 56% described themselves as happy at work, placing Singapore near the bottom among surveyed Asia-Pacific markets — above Hong Kong (47%) and behind Australia (57%), Malaysia (70%) and the Philippines (77%). Indonesia ranked highest at 82%, the report said.
While pay remains a major factor, the study suggests it is no longer sufficient on its own to sustain morale.
About 64% said higher pay would increase happiness, but the strongest drivers of longer-term workplace happiness were a sense of purpose, opportunities for career progression and day-to-day role satisfaction, Jobstreet said.
Only about half of respondents said they were satisfied with their sense of purpose at work, while just 37% felt positive about their career progression. Roughly one in two said they felt valued for their contributions.
Burnout emerged as a central pressure point. About 45% reported feeling burnt out or exhausted by their jobs, even as around eight in ten believed they could be happy at work.
The report said happy workers were five times more likely to go “above and beyond” and were less likely to be looking for a new job than unhappy workers, linking workplace happiness to productivity and retention.
In a notable split, the report found some workers who consider themselves happy also feel burnt out, with higher earners more likely to fall into that category.
It also pointed to disparities across demographics. Men reported higher workplace happiness than women, and millennials aged 30 to 44 were the least happy generation and the least motivated to exceed expectations, the report said.
“Singapore’s workers are not disengaged or unmotivated, but rather feeling stretched and undervalued,” Esther Lee, Jobstreet by SEEK’s Singapore managing director, said, calling burnout and stalled progression “business-critical issues”.
Business News Asia