Bhutan is known for prizing happiness. Its people also work longer than any other country.

A couple of hours into working overtime, 22-year-old Ten Choezim joined a video call from the kitchen of the hotel where she works in Thimphu, the capital.

Choezim and other workers in this article gave their real names but asked that their workplaces not be identified for fear of retaliation.

She told Business Insider that working beyond her contracted 12-hour shift is normal for her. She often hits 16-hour days and regularly clocks in a 112-hour week, she said.

Once, she said, she worked a 16-hour shift pattern for three weeks without a day off.

“I had aches, back pain, my legs were sore,” she said. “Mentally, I couldn’t speak well.”

Though she often feels exhausted by her work, Choezim saw few alternatives.

“After some time, I got used to it,” she said, noting that she wouldn’t be able to afford to live there if she worked any less or left her job.

Many Bhutanese are leaving the country

Although Choezim said she enjoys living in Bhutan, her intense workload has made her consider leaving for better pay and working conditions.

“Our country is peaceful and all, but when it comes to work, it is heavy,” she said.

Her sisters have already joined the exodus of young Bhutanese, moving to Australia. She said she feels obliged to remain to care for their parents.

In his State of the Nation address in July, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that about 64,000 people — around 9% of the country’s population — have migrated, mainly to Australia.

He described it as an “unprecedented existential crisis” that could hinder the country’s development.

“It is just enough to sustain me and my family,” he said. It covers rent, bills, and some costs associated with raising two teen daughters. He said he has little, if anything, left to save.

As a parent, he said, balancing his demanding work schedule with family life is a constant challenge.

Most days, he’s home too late to see his children before they fall asleep. “So, just once a week I get a good time with my family,” he said. “Otherwise, mostly, I am mostly working.”

The long hours often leave him feeling exhausted and irritable, but he said they are necessary to provide for his kids.

The reality of working in Bhutan

Bhutan’s innovative Gross National Happiness index, introduced in the 1970s and enshrined as a national goal in the constitution, aims to take a holistic view of development.

It values the population’s well-being and happiness alongside, or even above, traditional economic indicators.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País this month, Prime Minister Tobgay said the framework takes into account measures like how the population uses their time, which he said is crucial to “find out whether it’s balanced, if you’re sleeping enough, how you manage work-life balance, etc.”

Instead, Sharma is trying to embrace Bhutan’s guiding philosophy — finding greater value in sources of joy other than the size of his bank balance.

“We are not very rich, ” he said, but “we are happy.”

He added, “I do wish my standard of living were just a little bit better.”