Singaporean workers have the dubious honour of working the longest hours in the world.

More worryingly, despite such long hours, our productivity has dropped drastically.

This shows that productivity is not directly proportionate to the number of hours a worker puts in.

Proper work-life balance is important and an overworked worker may not be the most productive one ("Singaporeans crave more time with family: Poll"; Sept 7).

Adequate family time spent with loved ones and time spent on exercise and enjoying our hobbies are important elements to consider if a company wants a productive and efficient worker.

We need proper labour laws to protect local workers from overwork.

Francis Cheng