Increased Demand and Changing Attitudes Towards Flexible Work Arrangements
Photo by Mikey Harris on Unsplash
While many pandemic restrictions are beginning to lift around the world, the shift toward flexible work arrangements will undoubtedly be something that is impacted on the longer term. Pre-pandemic, working remotely and/or on a flexible schedule may have been part of the benefits package in smaller start-ups and tech companies, but usually wasn’t even an option for many industries - until social distancing flipped that on its head.
After easing back into the office over the first quarter, Singapore has announced the most significant update to allow 100% of employees to return to the workplace from today (up from 75%). The latest update also includes masks no longer being mandatory in the workplace when employees are not physically interacting with others or in customer-facing areas.
Without government mandated work from home arrangements, the decision is shifting back to the companies to determine what is best for their employees and company overall - whether to continue offering flexible arrangements, or to mandate more regular office time. Singapore’s Health Ministry does still encourage employers to retain flexible work arrangements as this offers benefits to employees and also helps workers avoid peak periods when returning to the office.
In light of these updates, we’re catching up with Accela Talent’s Client Director Vanessa Mittman to better understand what she’s seeing in the market with candidates and clients when it comes to the increased demand for work from home opportunities.
Between an overall desire for better work-life balance and the workforce largely adapting to working from home, employees globally seem to be pushing back on a full time return to the office. Some countries are even trialling and implementing four day work-weeks to keep talent more engaged and reduce attrition.
“It depends on the industry, but the consensus seems to be that employees feel they have proven they can be productive working from home and they’ve seen the benefits such as reduced commute which allows them to be home in time for dinner or minimise need for child care,” says Vanessa.
The current conversation in Singapore is around striking the right balance with a hybrid model. “People seem to like a mix,” says Vanessa, “They don’t mind being in the office but they like the time at home”. On the other hand, some employees who might be sharing a family home appreciate the quiet and calm of an office environment and prefer to get out of the house a bit for a change of scenery.
From the employer perspective, Vanessa notes most clients she’s speaking with prefer for people to be back in the office, and are leaning more towards the pre-pandemic normal. While employers see the benefits to being back in the office - productivity, teamwork, culture - they also are being careful not to push their employees too far and risk losing them. “It’s a balance right now, because people are lured away quicker and easier from a company in a remote environment, you don’t secure the same loyalty,” says Vanessa, “That said, companies are more stretched for talent then they’ve ever been, so they’re also cautious about pushing back and upsetting employees.”
