What do employees in Singapore really want?

Remote working is hardly a new concept, though there is no question that COVID accelerated its adoption amid multiple lockdowns and broad travel curbs. As restrictions are lifted and borders reopened after two years, remote work and virtual meetings look set to continue, just not as intensely as at the height of the pandemic.

How will remote working reshape the future workplace, and what can employers do to support and empower their hybrid workforce?

But first, how did the Singapore workforce react to remote working? According to the Minister of Manpower (MOM), Singapore fared well with 49% of employed residents having worked remotely in 2020¹. This placed Singapore among the highest proportions of resident employees working remotely compared to other European Union (EU) member states such as Italy (46.6%) and Finland (54%).

It probably helped that the majority of job vacancies (57%) in the professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) category were found suitable for remote working, as observed by the same MOM report. The suitability of most PMET jobs for remote working may have the effect of drawing workers towards roles with a high propensity for remote working.

Indeed, employees clearly want hybrid work as a permanent feature. As reported in The Straits Times, 41% of workers in Singapore shared that they would rather continue working remotely than receive a bigger bonus². Separately, a large Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) survey of 2,000 respondents found that half (in the range of 41% and 52%) felt that flexible work arrangements should be the new norm for workplaces in Singapore.³

Properly implemented, a flexible work arrangement offers an optimal middle ground that can spur productivity and drive innovation as employees benefit from improved work-life balance. Expect workers’ mental well-being to get better too, as they are empowered to schedule work and personal activities optimally.

Of course, remote working is not without its own set of challenges. The typical employer can expect to grapple with employee retention due to the difficulty of maintaining cohesion when employees work in isolation most of the time. Then there is the need to ensure smooth communication between team members when they are hardly in the same room.

Moreover, there is also the difficulty of keeping the organisation’s sensitive and confidential information secure despite a highly mobile workforce. And should workers be allowed to use their own devices, or treated as if they were in the office and furnished with everything they require for their jobs? Fortunately, tools and services are available to address most of these challenges.

Technology can close the gap with the hybrid workforce of the future, giving businesses the best of both worlds: The optimal environment employees desire, to the tools to ensure that service delivery is not compromised. Some examples of the latter include:

● Project management tools can help employees plan complex initiatives and ensure that key milestones are completed on time.

● Cloud-based collaboration software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom can ensure seamless communication regardless of physical location.

● Unified Communication services such as Singtel Unified Communication ensures that employees are always contactable from a phone, even if they are not in the office. This makes it easy to connect with customers anytime and anywhere from a single business number, whether a desk phone at work or an employee device outside the office.

According to Gartner, organisations must accelerate their digital business transformation plans to get ahead in a post-COVID world with permanently higher adoption of remote work. In their view, technology investments to support remote working are required to drive business growth and success in business operations.⁴

A decision to support remote working does more than open the door to new opportunities for productivity and innovation. The evidence is compelling that top talents are attracted to remote working, or at least flexible work arrangements.⁵ This means that supporting and creating a more conducive remote working environment is crucial to keeping your best and brightest. It is the future of work, after all.

Are you looking to take remote working to the next level? Contact us to find out more.

References:
¹ Ministry of Manpower, Impact of COVID-19: Remote Working in Singapore, 2021.

² The Straits Times, 4 in 10 Singapore workers would give up bigger bonus for remote working: Survey, 2022.

³ Human resources online, Singaporean employees want flexible work and WFH arrangements as the norm for today’s workplace, 2022.

⁴ Gartner, Technologies for Remote Working in 2021 and Beyond.

⁵ Insider, Nearly 40% of workers would consider quitting if their bosses made them return to the office full time, a new survey shows, 2021.