{"id":1074,"date":"2022-08-04T18:16:46","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/?p=1074"},"modified":"2023-06-02T10:09:02","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T02:09:02","slug":"why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/08\/04\/why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why flexible work is important in Singapore now?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All Singapore companies should follow new guidelines of FWA (Flexible working arrangements) in 2024&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> Reports and surveys show flexible working benefits for both companies and employees.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> 42% of workers would resign if they cannot work flexibly.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_34 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"display: none;\"><label for=\"item\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><i class=\"ez-toc-glyphicon ez-toc-icon-toggle\"><\/i><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1'><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/08\/04\/why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now\/#FWA_will_be_a_trend_in_2024_in_Singapore\" title=\"FWA will be a trend in 2024 in Singapore&nbsp;\">FWA will be a trend in 2024 in Singapore&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/08\/04\/why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now\/#The_strong_recommendation_from_the_Minister_of_State_for_Manpower\" title=\"The strong recommendation from the Minister of State for Manpower&nbsp;\">The strong recommendation from the Minister of State for Manpower&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/08\/04\/why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now\/#The_benefits_of_flexible_working_for_Singapore_companies\" title=\"The benefits of flexible working for Singapore&nbsp;companies&nbsp;\">The benefits of flexible working for Singapore&nbsp;companies&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/08\/04\/why-flexible-work-is-important-in-singapore-now\/#What_setup_is_suitable_for_the_hybrid_office\" title=\"What setup&nbsp;is suitable for the hybrid office?&nbsp;\">What setup&nbsp;is suitable for the hybrid office?&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FWA_will_be_a_trend_in_2024_in_Singapore\"><\/span>FWA will be a trend in 2024 in Singapore&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The result of the pandemic makes Singapore employees become accustomed to working flexibly, which means depending on the employees\u2019 needs to take action of work at home or work at the office. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A white paper recommends that the government expand the availability of FWA (Flexible working arrangements)&nbsp;by introducing a new set of tripartite (Policymakers, employees, and unions) guidelines that require employers to consider flexible work arrangement requirements fairly and properly by 2024.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The meaning of a fairly and properly flexible work arrangement<\/strong> is that reminding the directors to decide on the working method should be <strong>balanced between the needs of the companies and employees<\/strong>, not only benefits one side.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also recommends measures to increase corporate participation in the FWA voluntary tripartite standard <strong>from the current 27% of all employees to 40%<\/strong> by the end of this year. This makes FWA becoming a future working&nbsp;trend in Singapore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_strong_recommendation_from_the_Minister_of_State_for_Manpower\"><\/span>The strong recommendation from the Minister of State for Manpower&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minister of State for Manpower (MOM) Gan Siow Huang s believes that businesses with FWA will help to attract and retain talent. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/staff-requests-for-flexi-work-arrangements-must-be-considered-by-employers-by-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">She also said<\/a>: &#8221; Flexible work arrangements or FWAs will remain a key feature of our workplaces well after the pandemic is over. This is a <strong>win-win situation<\/strong> for employers and employees.&#8221; That means she believes that there are lots of benefits if the Singapore government adopted the FWA concept. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, for Singapore companies, flexible working has benefits in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/2022\/07\/19\/employee-productivity-and-hybrid-working\/#more-899\">high productivity improvement<\/a>, cost-saving on the operation, and retaining talents. Let&#8217;s see how flexible working benefits these aspects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_benefits_of_flexible_working_for_Singapore_companies\"><\/span>The benefits of flexible working for Singapore&nbsp;companies&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>High Productivity Improvement:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Half, a recruitment agency, found that a&nbsp;total of 60 percent of HR directors have seen an increase in work productivity when employees have the option to work from home in Singapore. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/jobs\/train-support-workers-to-bring-out-their-best-manpower-minister-tan-see-leng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Straits Times<\/a> said that it has as many as eight in 10 employers here who allow flexible work in Singapore, some banks in Singapore, including DBS, UOB and OCBC have flexible work plans now.<a href=\"http:\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/jobs\/train-support-workers-to-bring-out-their-best-manpower-minister-tan-see-leng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DBS<\/a> said that after the adoption of flexible working, employees&#8217; satisfaction has increased and employees are more engaged in their work than before, which has a positive impact on the&nbsp;company&#8217;s work efficiency. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Cost-Saving on the Operation:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ministry of Manpower (a government agency in Singapore) allows companies to apply for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mom.gov.sg\/employment-practices\/flexible-work-schedule\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">flexible work schedules<\/a>, which is a policy for companies that want to be exempted from certain Employment Act requirements for overtime, rest days, and public holidays pay.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The advantages of this policy are that it <strong>allows the companies&nbsp;to be exempted from paying the following salary rates to employees for overtime, rest day, and public holiday work<\/strong>, such as <strong>avoiding the payment of 1.5 times the hourly rate of pay for overtime work <\/strong>and <strong>2 days\u2019 salary for work done on a rest day at the employer\u2019s request<\/strong>. There is a strong incentive to encourage companies to adopt flexible working by reducing operating costs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Retaining talents:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1024x576.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1075\" srcset=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-300x169.jpeg 300w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-768x432.jpeg 768w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1200x675.jpeg 1200w, \/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">How many people would consider resigning if they need to work at the office on most day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For Singaporeans, spending time with family is more important than work. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/survey-finds-that-family-is-the-top-priority-for-singaporeans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey about family bonds<\/a> by the Families for Life Council of Singapore, one in two respondents said that could not accept that long working hours prevented them from spending more time with their families. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flexible working allows the employees to have more time to take care of their children and elders. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/jobs\/spore-workers-want-bosses-to-listen-to-their-flexi-work-needs-ips-survey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a study by the Institute of Policy Studies<\/a> in Singapore, 42% of workers who prefer flexible work arrangements would consider quitting if they were forced to go to the office most days. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The loss of a large number of people in a short period&nbsp;can have a very bad impact on a company&#8217;s productivity. Since the employee&#8217;s decision to resign depends on whether the company uses flexible work in the future, that\u2019s why the companies that use flexible work can retain talents.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As seen above, if Singapore companies adopt flexible working, there are many benefits: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Flexible working <\/em><\/strong>makes employees more engaged in their work so as to <strong><em>have<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>high productivity<\/em><\/strong>;&nbsp;<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>A flexible working policy <\/em><\/strong>allows for <strong><em>waiver of paying the extra operating expenses<\/em><\/strong>, and; &nbsp;<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/tag\/flexible-working-hours-singapore\/\"><strong><em>Flexible working<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>hours<\/em><\/strong><\/a> allow employees&nbsp;to spend more time with their families, <strong><em>preventing them from quitting<\/em><\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Although flexible work allows&nbsp;the employees long hours of remote work, they occasionally need to return to the office to work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, when employees need to return to the office, what configurations can help them work flexibly?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_setup_is_suitable_for_the_hybrid_office\"><\/span>What setup&nbsp;is suitable for the hybrid office?&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cB1Clpl5YOU&amp;t=5s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hybrid office<\/a> should use <a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a comprehensive office management system<\/a>, which helps&nbsp;Singapore employees use office resources efficiently, such as rooms, desks, and office equipment, and support them have remote work and virtual meetings with their colleagues in the office.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are the company director in Singapore, using the management systems&nbsp;can help you consider how to reduce the operational cost such as reducing the office workspace and fulfilling the expectations of both employees and administrators.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/hk-en\/bookings-one\/request-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bookings ONE,<\/a>&nbsp;one of the famous management systems, can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease.&nbsp;&nbsp;You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/hk-en\/bookings-one\/room-booking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Room Booking<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/hk-en\/bookings-one\/desk-booking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Desk Booking,<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/hk-en\/bookings-one\/visitor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Visitor Management<\/a>&nbsp;features.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/hk-en\/bookings-one\/request-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ONEs Software<\/a>&nbsp;now has a dedicated page to introduce a series of hybrid working measures to help you solve problems. You may wish to go to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/sg\/hybrid-workspace\/\">https:\/\/ones.software\/sg\/hybrid-workspace\/<\/a>&nbsp;for further reference.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact us:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:hello@ones.software\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hello@ones.software<\/a>, or visit ONEs Software official website for more information:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ones.software\/sg\/\">https:\/\/ones.software\/sg\/<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All you need to know for the benefit of the implementation of flexible work in Singapore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[182,159,181,93,157,174,42,67],"class_list":["post-1074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-singapore-work-culture","tag-flexible-work-arrangements-singapore","tag-flexible-working","tag-flexible-working-hours-singapore","tag-future-of-work","tag-singapore","tag-singapore-smart-office","tag-smart-office","tag-work-from-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1074"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3379,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1074\/revisions\/3379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ones.software\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}