According to the company, nearly a third of Thais are willing to put up with as much as a two hour commute to and from work, compared to just 10 per cent of Malaysian who are prepared for a one-hour commute.

The company's Malaysia country manager, Ross Mckenzie, said that the October 2008 survey asked respondents how long they were willing to spend travelling to work--offering the option of less than 30 minutes, 30 minutes to an hour, an hour to two hours and more than two hours.

Mckenzie said about 31 per cent of Thais are willing to undertake a one to two hour commute--with 15 per cent prepared to spend even longer travelling--compared to just 18 per cent of Chinese and similar number of Americans who were prepared to travel up to two hours.

Robert Walters (www.robertwalters.com.my) is a global specialist professional recruitment consultancy, which focuses on placing high calibre professionals into permanent, contract and temporary positions at all levels of seniority.

Mckenzie said this makes Thais the world's longest commuters. "In Malaysia, commuting is a key issue because of the geographic spread of key business and government centres and the congested roads and public transportation infrastructure, particularly in Kuala Lumpur. Choice of work location is becoming an important factor for most Malaysians when moving jobs."