Management support cited as a key factor for Singapore companies considering FWAs

Topping the list of reasons why companies are motivated to implement FWAs was talent attraction and retention, according to a survey by TAFEP and HRO.

A survey conducted in Singapore this year has reaffirmed the crucial role management plays when organisations look to implement flexible work arrangements (FWAs). 

In particular, 32% of the respondents who answered a question on their motivational factors to do so cited strong support from their management as a top factor.

Overall, however, talent attraction and retention topped the list — with 37% of the respondents indicating it as a motivational factor. The remaining factors were as follows:

• Access to resources such as tools and templates (17%)
• Guidance from a work-life champion ambassador (12%)
• Other factors, such as government's support and strong encouragement, government regulations, no physical office, etc. (2%)

A total of 103 employers were involved in the survey, commissioned by Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices in partnership with HRO, 16 February to 2 May 2023. 

As part of the survey, respondents were also asked if their organisation currently had a flexible work policy in place, to 83% of those who responded the question said yes. 

Going further, of those who had such a policy in place, the majority (71%) had an FWA that allowed them to work from home some days of the week, while about 12% could work from home every day. A small percentage (1%) did not get to work from home on any day at all, despite having a flexible work policy in place.

Top reasons why some companies don't have a work-from-home policy in place

Looking at the respondents who said their organisations had no work-from-home policy in place — of those who had indicated so, most attributed this to having an unsupportive management (52%); followed by 17% citing difficulty in managing employees’ requests for more ‘work from home’ days, and 14% who said the nature of their work was not suitable for such an arrangement rounding up the top three reasons. The remaining reasons cited were:

• Unable to monitor employees' performance (10%)
• Financial expenses from infrastructure installation (3%)
• Other reasons that are not 'black & white' (3%)

Challenges faced in implementing a work-from-home policy

Next, the survey looked into some of the challenges organisations faced when it came to implementing a work-from-home policy — whether they had one in place or did not. In response, a bulk cited the suitability of job roles for working from home (24%), followed closely by setting measurable key performance indicators (23%).

At the same time, about 16% highlighted challenges equipping their employees with the necessary infrastructure to work from home successfully; and, reaffirming the need for management support, about 15% cited difficulties getting management buy-in to implement such a policy.

Key benefits organisations reaped from having work-from-home arrangements

While the challenges are notable, the benefits of having such arrangements in place could not be ignored too, among the organisations who had implemented them. Among all benefits cited, the most common one that came to light was higher employee satisfaction, indicated by 39% of the respondents. Higher employee retention and higher employee attraction also ranked among the top, cited by 20.5% of respondents, respectively. 

Coming in close, was increased productivity in the workforce (16%).

Other key findings highlighted

The most common FWAs in place

While work-from-home was unsurprisingly the most common FWA in place, others included:

• Staggered time (28%)
• Compressed work schedule (9%)
• Phasing in or out (9%)
• Job sharing (2%)

Top 3 industries with FWAs

Among the organisations surveyed who had FWAs in place, the largest share was made up of those from infocomm (18%), manufacturing (17%), and professional/ scientific/ technical activities (14%).

On the other hand, the least share included those from education (1%), water supply; sewage, waste management and remediation activities (1%), and agriculture & fishing (1%).

Tripartite Standard adopters

Close to half of the organisations surveyed were either an adopter of the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony, the Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements, or both (46%). 

TAFEP provides information and resources to help employers and HR professionals keep abreast of HR best practices. Visit tafep.sg to find out more.

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