Productivity
Children cool off in a fountain

Deadly Heatwaves Threaten Economies Too

More frequent and intense heatwaves are the deadliest form of extreme weather made worse by global warming, with death tolls sometimes in the thousands, but they can also have devastating economic impacts too, experts say.The prolonged and unseasonable scorchers gripping the central United States (US) and rolling northward across western Europe, sending the thermometer above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), are likely to cause both.Deadly And CostlyVery high temperatures caused ne

16 June 2022
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Why Zoom Can’t Save The World

Before COVID-19, spending on business travel totalled US$1.5 trillion a year, about 1.7 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP). Now it is down to a trickle, as countries have closed their borders and social distancing has taken hold. Planes have been grounded, hotels are closed, and executives are not earning frequent flier miles. Many travel and hospitality jobs are feeling the consequences.

4 August 2020
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WFH: Longer Work Hours?

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way people live their lives. One of the notable implications of the crisis is the sudden emergence of remote working for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and even major corporations.

2 August 2020
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Long Work Hours Making ASEAN Less Productive

Although it is commonly accepted that productivity decreases as hours worked increases, three ASEAN countries rank in the top-10 of a list of countries where people work the most hours per week.The top-10 countries in the list – of which nine are in Asia – all work at least 45 hours a week according to recent data by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Qatar leads the way with the world’s longest average working week with 49 hours, while Myanmar are joint-second with Mongoli

8 September 2019
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Can Industry 4.0 revolutionise manufacturing?

Southeast Asia is a region that’s vast developing. It has evolved from an agricultural society to one of the fastest growing regions in the world within the span of a century. One of the main drivers of such growth was due to Southeast Asia’s position as a low-manufacturing hub. This combined with cheap exports, provided the region with the necessary income to develop. However, in the past two decades, the world has seen the meteoric rise of China’s manufacturing industry.

26 February 2019
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Age is an asset in Brunei

While in most countries, an ageing population is a sign of potential dwindling economic productivity, Brunei paints a different picture to this conundrum.Speaking at a forum titled ‘New Frontiers in Social Research on Ageing: Implications for Brunei Darussalam’, earlier this week, the country’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Awang Haji Aminuddin said that Brunei sees the elderly in the country as critical stakeholders towards future national development.“We don’t paint a pessimistic p

31 December 2018
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Ageing Thais could hurt economy

In less than 20 years, almost one in four people – roughly 24 percent of the population – in Thailand would be aged 65 and over, thus making the kingdom a hyper-aged society. The United Nations (UN) defines an ageing society as one where more than seven percent of the population is older than 65. An aged society has more than 14 percent of the population older than 65, and finally, a hyper-aged society is one where upwards of 20 percent of the population is aged over 65.

14 September 2018
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Age is an asset in Brunei

While in most countries, an ageing population is a sign of potential dwindling economic productivity, Brunei paints a different picture to this conundrum.Speaking at a forum titled ‘New Frontiers in Social Research on Ageing: Implications for Brunei Darussalam’, earlier this week, the country’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Awang Haji Aminuddin said that Brunei sees the elderly in the country as critical stakeholders towards future national development.“We don’t paint a pessimistic p

16 August 2018
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Weak labour productivity a threat to ASEAN’s potential

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a collective of 10 economies has made immense strides over the past 51 years. A significant milestone for the bloc was the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 which aims to achieve a vision for a dynamic and competitive market encompassing all 10 states.At the crux of such an ambition is the huge potential of a demographically young region of over 630 million people – with 60 percent below the age of 30.

7 June 2018
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