82% of Taiwan employees worked unpaid overtime, survey finds

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — As Taiwan prepares to celebrate Labor Day on May 1, a new survey reveals a troubling trend among the nation's workforce. According to job search website Yes123, looking back on the past year, 70% of workers said they are virtually on call 24 hours a day, with 15.5% saying they work overtime daily. Over 82% said they had worked unpaid overtime in the past year, indirectly reducing their monthly salary by 11.6%.

The survey also found that 90% of workers indirectly work an extra 13 hours per month. Workers estimate they work overtime an average of 2.3 days per week, meaning they can't leave work on time for about 9.2 days per month. Only 20.8% of workers reported "almost no overtime."

Looking back at the past year, a staggering 82.3% of workers said they had worked unpaid overtime, missing out on an average of NT$5,333 in overtime pay per month. Some 12.6% even claimed their unpaid overtime amounted to over NT$10,000. Based on the official average salary of NT$46,017, this equates to an indirect deduction of 11.6% from their monthly salary.

The widespread use of smartphones has exacerbated the issue, with 69.7% of workers saying their phones are on 24/7. A whopping 93.8% continue to handle work affairs on their phones after work or on days off, indirectly working an extra 12.9 hours per month.

Yes123 spokesman Yang Tsung-pin warned that the root cause of this "indirect" unpaid overtime is the integration of smartphones with communication software, social media, and email systems. This allows supervisors to contact employees at any time, creating a vicious cycle of a "24-hour responsibility system." He urged employers to be more cautious about contacting subordinates after work or on days off, respecting their time and space.

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