The office has seen many changes in recent years, particularly as technology advances and younger generations begin to outnumber older employees. The data from Inc. shows that as much as 40% of an office’s dedicated desk space is unused on a given day.
However, some employees still need to return to the office, and others cannot concentrate on their work because of the noise at home, they need to conduct face-to-face meetings with guests, which is only found in the office.
In Singapore, employees also prefer to work flexibly for different reasons, a survey shows that 42% of employees consider quitting if they cannot work flexibly. The reason is that flexible work has lots of advantages and benefits the Singaporeans.
The reason is that flexible working has many benefits for Singaporeans, the most important advantage is that it helps them save money on their daily expenses.
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Why do Singaporeans think Flexi-work benefits saving on daily expenses
A study by the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore found that Singaporeans thought flex-work benefits save on daily expenses. The reasons are as follows:
- Reduce the chance of getting Covid-19: Preventing paying medical expenses;
- Less money and time spent on commuting: Allowing staff to work at home.
- Less need to dress for work: No need to go back to the office for work.
Hybrid working opinions from Singaporeans
The recruitment agency Randstad interviewed 1000 workers recently, it found that two in five respondents said that they would not accept a job if they were unable to work from home or the time they wanted.
Additionally, 77% of the respondents said that they focus on working with flexibility. Hybrid work is an approach that takes into account the individual’s needs, whether they’re at home or at the office.
Opinion from a female Singaporean
Miss Loh is among a small group of Singaporeans who have relocated to Johor Bahru following the reopening of borders. She hopes to find a remote job, which can allow her to reduce her daily expenses because she can do full-time work from home.
I wanted a job that could accommodate my choice to live in Johor Bahru because it allows me to lower my living expenses. I can also save on transport, cook my own lunches, and have more time for myself.
My employer does not mind that I am based overseas because some of my fellow colleagues are based in other parts of the world. We have online meetings every day to check in and share project updates. Being based across the Causeway has not been an issue
Miss Loh
If Miss Loh might need to return to the office occasionally in the future, hybrid working can provide the following benefits:
- Customizing the work hours and schedule by herself allows her to work-life balance.
- Location will not affect her productivity because her company has online meetings every day to check in and share project updates;
- Unnecessary to work at the office because the work location can be decided by herself;
- Saving expenses on travel to work because she does not need to go back to the office for work;
- Saving expenses on having lunch because she can have lunch at home;
- Saving expenses on buying clothes to dress up for work because she just works at home.
I’m just 30 to 45 minutes away if I do need to commute back to work. Although we generally work online, it is also important to connect with one another face to face every now and then
Miss Loh
Opinion from a mid-aged Singapore IT engineer
58-year-old I.T. engineer, Mr. Azhar Yusof moved with his wife to Johor Bahru earlier this year and purchased a retirement home near Nusajaya.
He said that remote work allows him not to be concerned about the problem of work location, then he can move to a more remote location as there is a lower cost of housing, groceries, and other conveniences. Thus, he can reduce his daily expenses.
According to a report by The Edge, the ringgit depreciated to a record low against the Singapore dollar, touching RM3.2410 in early August.
Not all things are cheaper in Johor Bahru than in Singapore. But for most items, we do save quite a bit.
The savings do add up. We do groceries at places … where most locals go. The food is fresh and cheap.
Mr. Azhar Yusof
Hybrid working gives him the following benefits:
- Allows him to decide the work location by himself, therefore he does not have to be concerned about the distance between work location and home;
- Enjoy the advantage of an exchange rate that gives him more purchasing ability than before;
- Pay less money for buying everyday items because he lives at a remote location.
A Singaporean tech entrepreneur option
Business owner Mr. Chen Chun-You, who is a tech entrepreneur, founded the e-payment service Sapphiro.
He told CNA that being based in Johor Bahru does not affect his capacity to manage his business. At the same time, it allows him to benefit from lower expenses.
“The house is located at Tanjung Puteri, within 5km of the causeway. The rent I pay is around S$530 a month, and that’s a 4- to 5-star living standard condominium,” said Mr. Chen. “It is quite affordable to live in private housing given the bigger land available,”
Based on the opinions of Mr. Chen, flexi-work allows employers to enjoy the following benefits:
- Renting prime housing at a lower rate in a remote place;
- Through online management platforms to maintain the high quality of the company’s management and provides work remotely;
- The income would not be reduced as the online management platforms support the company to still work in high efficiency;
- Flexible work location allows employers to move to lower price rate places to be their hybrid offices.
What setup is suitable for the hybrid office?
As you see, flexi-work allows employees to consider their individual needs, which can decide to work at home or at the office. Therefore, employees do not often go back to the offices for work.
Hybrid working can help employers to save the operation by reducing unnecessary workspace and lowering rent rates in remote places. Also, hybrid offices allow employees to work flexibly, and they can retain their talents.
A hybrid office should use a comprehensive office management system, which helps Singapore employees use office resources efficiently, such as rooms, desks, and office equipment, and support them to have remote work and virtual meetings with their colleagues in the office.
If you are the company director in Singapore, using the management systems can help you consider how to reduce the operational cost such as reducing the office workspace and fulfilling the expectations of both employees and administrators.
ONES is one of the famous all-in-one smart office systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease. You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features.
ONES Software now has a dedicated page to introduce a series of hybrid working measures to help you solve problems. You may wish to go to https://ones.software/sg/hybrid-workspace/ for further reference.
Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/sg/.