With the cost of travelling to work almost doubling in the past five years, 42% of employees in Singapore spend more than 5% of their annual take-home pay on commuting to work.

In China, 30% of employees fell in the same bracket, while the number was pegged at 28% for employees in Hong Kong.

Regus research found workers worldwide spend an average of 5% of their net take-home pay on their annual commute to work, surveying more than 44,000 staffers across more than 100 countries.

This was up from the average of 3% that workers spend on their annual commute in 2010.

In some parts of the world, such as South Africa, Brazil, France, India and Mexico, costs have risen even higher than the 5% average.

Globally, 14% of workers admit they spend 10% or more of their earnings on travel.

Below is the percentage of annual take-home pay employees spend on commuting to work:

“Travel expenses are accounting for a larger and larger slice of their yearly outgoings, in some cases making the commute to work prohibitively expensive and deterring prospective talent,” said Michael Ormiston, country manager, Regus Hong Kong.

“Flexible working can provide a solution for maxed out employees.”

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