Work is an integral element of a person’s life. For many Singaporeans, work occupies much of their waking hours. Indeed, the long-standing belief that Singaporeans spend most of their lives working has been backed up by numerous surveys. Singaporeans have the longest working hours per week at 45 hours. With work being so pivotal, it is unsurprising that new trends at work have such an oversized impact on Singaporeans.
Hybrid work is here to stay
A recent study by Blackbox Research, “Emerging From The Pandemic: The New Mood In Singapore”, highlighted that 46% of polled respondents were quite enthusiastic about hybrid work arrangements. Interestingly, while younger Singaporeans would be expectedly more enthused with hybrid work, similar sentiments were found in other age groups as well.
The enthusiasm and entrenchment of hybrid work within the modern working environment will pose important challenges to employers, HR managers, and even give rise to new business models. Already, the hybrid work enthusiasm has partly helped make start-ups a popular destination for younger Singaporeans. Employers and HR managers will also need to create new strategies to manage their hybrid employees and keep them engaged in the workspace while promoting productivity among employees.
Gig work goes mainstream
Hybrid work grew in tandem with another work trend—the gig economy. From food delivery to freelance legal advice and even online content creation on YouTube, gig work has seen impressive growth in the past 2 years. The number of global gig workers is expected to double from 43 million in 2018 to 78 million in 2023. In Singapore, almost 10% of Singaporeans work as freelancers and gig workers.
The Singapore Government has done a reasonable job in managing the growth of the gig economy. Today, questions such as legal employment protections for food delivery riders and Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions are being debated to ensure that the gig economy can be a long-term viable employment model for Singaporeans who choose to venture into it.
Workforce future-proofing gets prioritised
The changing employment landscape has created new expectations for both employers and employees. While employers figure out how to run their businesses given the new attitudes expressed by employees, employees too need to figure out how to remain employable in today’s work environment.
Reskilling has become commonplace in recent years. Continuous education and training (CET) have become important to ensure Singaporeans do not deskill due to technological developments. Some Singaporeans have also used reskilling to pivot into sunrise industries, a term used to denote industries that are relatively new and fast growing.
Productivity at all costs is being challenged
The change in attitudes towards work and the new work modalities requires a rethink of productivity in the workplace. Corporations have typically defined productivity by the general idea of value created by employees. If employees create more value over time, productivity is deemed to have risen.
One issue with defining productivity today is presenteeism and performance punishment. Presenteeism occurs when employees feel the need to demonstrate that they are doing work to be considered productive. One classic example in any Singaporean office, and perhaps around the world, is the culture wherein employees only leave for the day once their boss leaves. An employee who leaves on the dot at the end of a workday or before their boss does is deemed unproductive or to be slacking off. Performance punishment, meanwhile, occurs when high performers are being punished for their good performance with added work and responsibilities. This is unfortunately a common complaint online.
Work-related phenomena such as hybrid work arrangements, gig work, and quiet quitting are almost direct responses towards unsustainable and toxic working practices. The agency and independence that hybrid work arrangements and gig work offer to employees is a big reason why these are so popular.
Quiet Quitting is sending a message to employers
Quiet quitting is an interesting phenomenon that has gained much traction recently. To clarify, quiet quitting is not about resignation. Rather, it refers to the rejection of the hustle culture. Many are going onto social media platforms like TikTok to record videos of themselves turning off laptops at the end of their workday, on the dot. Other examples include refusing to do work that is not within one’s job scope or contract. This is in response to burnout concerns and a desire to establish a boundary between work and leisure time.
One of the unfair assumptions about quiet quitting is that it is a ‘young people’ problem. This is not true. Singaporeans of all ages desire a certain degree of work-life balance.
Mental health has become an important aspect in Singaporeans’ lives. Over 1 in 2 Singaporeans feel quite positive that greater discussions about mental health, anxiety, and burnout in the workplace are now getting normalised. This feeling was consistent among various age groups.
The specific association between quiet quitting and younger Singaporeans stems from the latter’s engagement on social media. Older generations simply did not have a variety of social media platforms to post their quiet quitting moments, so they did it more quietly, pun intended.
With increasing shifts in attitudes towards work, employers, HR professionals, talent developers, and employees will see an even more dynamic work environment going forward. Developing effective strategies towards making a better workplace will be a challenging task. To understand how the latest work trends will impact businesses going forward, get in touch at connect@blackbox.com.sg
Author: Blackbox Research Team
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