73,000 jobs to be created in flexible offices in Singapore by 2030

With the younger generation wanting more flexibility in their work, a predicted boom in flexible working is expected to create a total of 73,000 additional jobs in Singapore by 2030, a new study found.

The analysis, commissioned by Regus and conducted by independent economists, further revealed this could contribute S$54.8 billion to the Singapore economy by 2030.

Sectors driving the expected increase in value include:

• Professional services (23.3%)
• Business support services (19.6%)
• Public administration (17.7%)
• Information and communication activities (10.1%)
• Financial services (7.8%)
• Property services (5%)

Together, these six sectors account for 83.5% of the total additional value expected to be generated by flexible working in Singapore by 2030.

The Regus study found that by 2030, flexible working will contribute USD $10.04 trillion to the economies of the 16 countries analysed - Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.

Regus found that between 8% and 13% of all employment will be associated with flexible workspaces in most developed economies by 2030.

Greater levels of flexible working will bring about various benefits to businesses including cost saving, and productivity boosts.

The specific benefits include higher business and personal productivity, lower overheads for office space for companies using flexible workspace, and millions of hours saved commuting. All of these factors contribute to flexible working’s Gross Value Add (GVA) to the economy.

Countries with the greatest predicted GVA increase from flexible workspaces are China ans India - an increase of 193% and 141% in their respective economies.

In Singapore, the expected increase in GVA is also significant, at 89.8%.

Apart from the business and economic benefits, flexible working also brings about benefits to staff such as time saved from commuting. It is estimated that 3.53 billion hours of commuting time could be saved across the 16 economies by 2030. That is equivalent to the time spent at work every year by 2.01 million people.

Remote workers are also almost twice as likely to say they love their job as those in the same industry working in a traditional workspace.

It goes without saying that larger countries such as China, United States, and Japan will experience the greatest hours saved in the commute under the accelerated growth scenario, while smaller nations like Singapore will see 4.7 million hours of additional commuting time saved each year.

Ian Hallett, group managing director for Regus, said: "It’s hugely exciting to consider the ways our society could benefit as a result of increased flexible working – especially as the growth projections to 2030 show just how important it will be in the decades to come. Businesses must seize the opportunity to become part of this workspace revolution and continue bringing flexible workplace to employees across the globe."

Adding to that was Steve Lucas of Development Economics, and report author, who said: "These projections show flexible working is a strong economic force that businesses and people should embrace in the years to come."

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