Almost Half of S’porean Workers Threaten to Quit if They’re Needed to Work in the Office Full-Time

If there’s one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has normalised over the past few years, it’s working from home (WFH).

Yes, it’s probably not a coincidence if you realise that your trip along the highway appears to be exceptionally smooth every Friday morning, even if you tell me that Lady Luck especially shines luck down on you once a week.

Just recently, Employment Hero, a leading Human Resources (HR), payroll and benefits platform uploaded its findings from its newest study regarding employment and work arrangements in Singapore.

The report collected information from around 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, and the results of the report were shared with Goody Feed in a recent press release.

And the findings might shock you, but then again, it’s 2022, so is anything really shocking at this point…?

Employees Keener on Flexible, Remote Working Arrangements

OK, maybe this isn’t new news to everyone.

Based on Employment Hero’s recent 2022 Remote Work Report, 81% of Singaporean workers would be interested in pursuing a job that offers a permanent remote position.

88% of respondents also expressed their intention of working remotely “at least once a week”, while 28%, more than one-quarter of the total respondents, said that they want to work remotely every day.

And it seems like the younger generation prioritises such working arrangements, with 90% of Generation Z (Gen-Z) workers from the age of 18-24 stating in the survey that they are more likely to still work remotely even if they can return to the office.

60% of Gen-Z and Millenial respondents (aged 18-35) also said that they are likely to continue working remotely full-time.

Additionally, more than half (57%) of them said that they are open to the idea of a working holiday, which is when a tourist visits another country for a longer period of time and takes on short-term jobs to help increase their savings or fund their trip.

Workers are More Likely to Leave Job if Job Requires Them to Return to Office Full-Time

And while WFH might have just seemed like a nice option to have in the past, it appears to be a non-negotiable term that some employees may have these days.

In particular, 46% of remote and hybrid workers said that they will consider quitting their jobs if their bosses ask them to return to the office full-time.

As for the younger generation, a little less than half (33%) of Gen-Z workers “voted a firm yes” regarding leaving their jobs if they are required to work from their office full-time.

Yup, employees these days may quit their job if they had to go to their office every day.

Remote Work More Popular Now Due to Location Benefits

With regards to why remote work has gained so much popularity over the past few years, one of the most prominent reasons that respondents cited was that remote work would allow “location fluidity”.

In particular, 30% of Singaporean workers surveyed have either moved further away from the office or have taken a working holiday when they were working remotely.

Apart from that, remote working can also allow employees who are overbroad to continue working. Based on the report, this is especially important to Gen-Zs since 78% of them are “more likely to consider moving abroad”.

WFH Benefits

As for the benefits of companies offering WFH, whether it be completely remote or hybrid working arrangements, over half of the respondents (52%) indicated that these arrangements have allowed them to have better work-life balance.

Apart from that, 51% said that WFH improves their mental health, half said that it increases their quality of work and innovation while 45% agreed that WFH raises their productivity levels.

WFH has also allowed for greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with 64% of workers belonging to marginalised groups indicating that working remotely reduces the discrimination that they face.

Some Workers Who Work from Office Full-Time are Not Doing So on Own Accord

With the relaxation of COVID-19 safety measures, the number of employees that worked full-time in their offices increased from 16% in 2020 and 2021 to 41% in 2022.

However, some employees who have made the switch from previous remote or hybrid working conditions to going back to the “norm” and working full-time in the office did not voluntarily choose to do so.

Nearly half (49%) of them only returned to the office full-time due to employers’ directives.

However, it seems like there are still workers amongst us who choose to work in the office, with the various office facilities and utilities being the main reason why these workers have decided to work in their offices instead of WFH.

Apart from that, remote workers also said that the three main things that they miss the most from working in their offices are air conditioning, the ability to easily bounce ideas off co-workers and internet speed.

More Singaporeans Taking Up Side Hustles

And if it feels like everyone around you has started a small business on Carousell or a second job of sorts, it might actually be true.

With the increase in the cost of living as well as a possible recession coming up, more than half of Singaporeans have since taken up a side hustle of sorts.

And it appears to be that such side hustles are welcome by the younger generation as well, with 50% of Gen-Zs indicating that they do have a side hustle of their own.

For now, it seems like side hustles do have a mostly positive impact on Singaporean workers: Even though 48% of respondents said that these side hustles may sometimes cause them to lose focus from their primary job, 81% of them agreed that managing these side income sources do not reduce their productivity at work.

Additionally, 73% also said that having a secondary income source improves their quality of life.

What Employers Can Do

With the clear indication that employees these days are more inclined towards taking on roles with remote working options, Alex Hattingh, Chief People Officer at Employment Hero mentioned how employers should take that into consideration when setting up their work arrangements in a post-pandemic society.

“Employers need to be wary of pushing employees back into the “traditional” model of work and be mindful that talent won’t forget the positive impact working remotely or in a hybrid setting had on their mental health and work-life balance,” he explained.

Apart from that, the report also revealed that with regards to what actions employers can take to support employees who work remotely, employees are also keen on receiving more financial support from their employers.

In particular, 37% of respondents indicated their preference for having subsidised utilities, while 28% said that they would like to receive subsidised food, drinks or groceries.

“Companies looking to implement remote work should be ready to support their remote workers’ needs, being especially aware that these will differ across regions. In Singapore for example, better advocacy of work-life balance, additional financial support such as subsidising utilities, upskilling opportunities and the proper use of digital tools to maximise employees’ time and output are high on the list of priorities that employees look for in terms of support,” Hattingh commented.

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As for how the workforce is changing, Hattingh also noted, “We are in an era where employee working habits are shaping the employment landscape, Millennials and Gen-Zs are driving working trends, and employers need to be willing to listen.”

In particular, Gen-Zs and millennials indicated in the survey that they are interested in working for organisations where employers are included meaningfully in the decision-making of the company.

They also emphasised the importance of having upskilling opportunities such as webinars
or lunch & learns which are easily accessible to them.

Apart from that, the younger generation also greatly welcomes the incorporation of technology into their jobs.

82% of Millennials (aged 25-34) surveyed said that having machine learning will make their jobs more efficient, while 75% of them said that technology can help them find out about and resolve problems that surface in their workplaces.

“The future of work is undoubtedly flexible; employers must adapt and engage with their workforce if they hope to successfully attract and retain great talent, or risk losing out,” Hattingh concluded.

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