Work

5 Signs of a Good Company That Employees Would Stay Even if Pay is Low

2017-06-13 , 2:27 pm

Last Updated on 2023-03-06 , 11:12 am

This is a guest post contributed by Ling.

Working in Singapore is tough, no doubt about it. In fact, you won’t be surprised to hear that out of ten friends, nine of them are literally selling their lives to their companies.

You know, the ones who rely on three cups of kopi-gao ga dai (coffee thick plus sugar) a day to keep themselves awake.

If you’re young, a fresh grad and eager to chiong, it’s okay, you can manage.

But what if you are preparing to settle down, start a family and you want to place more focus on your family? You got to choose which is more important, work or family?

Wrong.

There are companies out there who, just like you, understand the importance of work-life balance. Basically, pro-family companies.

You don’t earn as much, true, but at least you have time for what’s really important in life.

Here are 5 signs of a good company to look out for if you’re like the person we’re talking about above.

Family Care Leave

Typically, pro-family companies give you more than just annual leave and sick leave.

We all know how precious our annual leave is so isn’t it wonderful if the company sets asides a few more days for us to care for our family members?

It would come in handy when we need to accompany our parents or grandparents to see the doctor or take care of them when they are hospitalised.

Compared to elder care leave, family care leave covers more people so it may apply to the employee’s siblings or grandchildren etc.

Some companies even give up to 5 days of family care leave.

Marriage Leave

You’ll be surprised but marriage leave isn’t an entitlement but a privilege.Getting hitched is a personal decision but some companies choose to celebrate this joyous occasion with their employees!

Most newly-wed couples plan to go on their honeymoon shortly after their wedding ceremony and companies support this.

Some companies provide up to 7 days of marriage leave! This is on top of the annual leave that an employee can take to tour the entire Europe with his or her loved one.

Maternity benefit

Not all companies have fears of their female employees getting pregnant and eventually taking four months worth of maternity leave.

To some bosses, they might see it as a liability to their company but some companies are so enlightened that they embrace working mothers.

Some companies, like Citi group, hand out at least $800 worth of baby bonus for new mummies! It’s usually intended as a subsidy for the pre-natal and child delivery costs.

That’s about 14 tins of milk powder which means 2.5 months of free food for your baby!

Staggered work schedule

Not everyone can afford a maid, or trust one enough to take care of their kids.

They need to send their children to school before coming to work and pick their children up from school after work.

Different employees have different family needs so if the core of the company’s work is not time-sensitive, some organisations may allow staggered work timings.

For instance, if you start work at as early as 7.30am, you get to knock off at 5.00pm. If you live further away from work, you could start work at 9.30am and end at 7.00pm.

This initiative is perfect for those who wish to avoid peak hours and train breakdowns!

Flexible work arrangement

Does the company allow its employees to work from home if they have family needs to attend to?

For instance, if your domestic helper returns to her hometown for a few weeks and you have to be the main caregiver for your elderly parent, does the company support your request of working from home?

Some employers even allow employees who are unwell (nursing a bad flu or cough) to work from home until they feel much better. This is beneficial for the employee and his or her colleagues!

If you’re keen to work in a family-friendly workplace, do check out some of these companies: KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, DBS Bank, Singapore Labour Foundation, SP Services and Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific.

We heard that they have some of these implemented!

You’re welcome! 😉

Oh, you can also show this to your boss, you know? Like a hint-hint moment.