They either desire greater freedom or want to work for an organization that is more dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as the well-being of its employees.

Over the last two years, these factors have only become more meaningful to women leaders. If companies don’t take action in response to these trends,
they’re at risk of losing more women leaders.

Women leaders expect more flexibility

Based on the survey, 49% of women leaders say flexibility is one of the top three things they consider when deciding whether to join or stay with a company, compared to 34% of men leaders.

Women leaders are more than 1.5x as likely as men at their level to have left a previous job because they wanted to work for a company that was more committed to wellbeing and diversity and inclusion (DEI).

Companies risking the loss of young women

The factors that drive women leaders to leave their companies are
even more important to young women, who play a critical role in building diverse and inclusive teams.

Younger women are more likely than female executives to report that flexibility and the company’s dedication to employee DEI are top priorities.

Companies that don’t take action may find it difficult to attract and keep the next generation of women leaders, which has particularly worrying implications for organizations that already have a “broken rung” in their leadership pipeline.

This fact also is revealed in many other local surveys, such as the latest Workmonitor survey. Based on 1,000 Singapore local respondents, more than 40% of people said they would not accept a job offer if they couldn’t work from home or didn’t have flexible work hours.

Hybrid working empowers female workers

In a conversation with NTUC Women’s Committee leaders at the presidential palace, President Halimah Jacob said that the practice of flexible working has helped women stay in the workforce and solve the restrictions.

In Singapore, female employees need to respond to more work, for example, they need to take care of their children and elderly family members after work, and those actions will increase stress in their lives.

The tremendous pressure will make them less satisfied, leading to a decrease in work efficiency, and eventually, they may even quit. Hybrid working can help to provide enough flexibility and autonomy for females to choose the right place and time to work.

McKinsey and Lean In’s report also shows that remote work options are especially critical for women with disabilities.

Since having greater control over your work environment makes it simpler to manage mobility challenges, chronic pain, and mental health conditions, working from home can make disabled women healthier and more productive.

Additionally, having the opportunity to work remotely makes disabled women feel more appreciated and supported.

They are less likely to encounter particular microaggressions, such as receiving unfavorable remarks about their appearance or having coworkers openly doubt their credentials.

They are also more likely to claim that their management has faith in them to complete their work and that they feel at ease discussing their difficulties with coworkers.

I don’t think I could work full-time if I was required to be in the office. I think it is literally that life-changing to be remote for me.

WHITE WOMAN, ENTRY LEVEL, PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

Learn more about Women in Workplace: https://womenintheworkplace.com/

Learn more about productivity in the hybrid working era: https://ones.software/blog/?s=Productivity+

Develop your own hybrid office with our smart office system: https://ones.software/

The post Most professional women prefer hybrid and remote work first appeared on ONEs Blog.

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.  

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:

1. Reduce the chance of getting Covid-19: Preventing paying medical expenses; 
2. Less money and time spent on commuting: Allowing staff to work at home. 
3. 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: 

1. Customizing the work hours and schedule by herself allows her to work-life balance. 
2. Location will not affect her productivity because her company has online meetings every day to check in and share project updates;  
3. Unnecessary to work at the office because the work location can be decided by herself; 
4. Saving expenses on travel to work because she does not need to go back to the office for work; 
5. Saving expenses on having lunch because she can have lunch at home; 
6. 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: 

1. 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; 
2. Enjoy the advantage of an exchange rate that gives him more purchasing ability than before;  
3. 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: 

1. Renting prime housing at a lower rate in a remote place;  
2. Through online management platforms to maintain the high quality of the company’s management and provides work remotely; 
3. The income would not be reduced as the online management platforms support the company to still work in high efficiency;  
4. 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/.  

The post How can hybrid working help Singaporeans and their companies save their daily expenses now?  first appeared on ONEs Blog.

The status of female employees in Singapore 

Since Singapore attained self-government in 1959, the Government has worked tirelessly to support Singapore women and make sure they are standing in society has risen steadily. 

From 1994 to 2021, the Singapore employment rate of women between the ages of 25 – 64 years has increased from 53% to 75%. According to a Deloitte report, 13.1% of Singapore companies in 2021 were helmed by a female chief executive and that is the highest share globally.

Moreover, Madam Halimah Yacob was sworn in as the first female President of the Republic of Singapore in 2013. As you see, Singapore’s female workforce is becoming increasingly important in the workplace. 

Nevertheless, Singapore women still face some unfair treatment, for example, sexism, violence, and sexual harassment in the workplace, etc. Therefore, the Singapore Council of Women’s Organization (SCWO) has submitted the “WHITE PAPER ON SINGAPORE WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT”  to Singapore Government to provide suggestions to protect female employees. 

Flexible Working Arrangements & Hybrid Working 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, globally many companies (including Singapore companies) have conducted the flexible working method, i.e., hybrid working.

To better support more women to enter and progress in the workforce, the white paper recommended that the Government should guide and support companies to provide flexible working arrangements (FWA), and require employers to assess requests for FWAs fairly and properly.   

FWA is a new set of tripartite (Policymakers, employees, and unions) guidelines and the aim is to require employers to consider flexible work arrangement requirements fairly and properly by 2024.

The meaning of a fairly and properly flexible work arrangement is that reminding the directors to decide on the working method should be balanced between the needs of the companies and employees, not only benefits one side.   

According to a study by the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore, 42% of workers who prefer flexible work arrangements would consider quitting if they were forced to go to the office most days. If companies implement flexible working, they can satisfy the employees’ needs and retain their talents. Thus, the best solution to balance the needs of the companies and employees is to implement hybrid working. 

Suggestions to support employees by Woman’s Organization 

One of the important suggestions of the white paper is to recommend that companies implement flexible working. One of the general reasons is that it can give the employees more flexibility to work, then can make them work efficiently as they have less stress.  

The white paper also recommended that the Singapore companies’ directors should take care of the female welfare and have a close connection with women’s organizations, such as the Singapore Council of Women’s Organizations (SCWO).  

These organizations will support the companies to protect female employees and help the women employees achieve a balance between their career and family aspirations. Furthermore, hybrid working allows the employees to have a flexible work schedule, work hours, and work location, also they can decide the workflow by themselves.  

How hybrid working can protect women’s rights? 

Can spend more time with family

The first advantage of hybrid working is that flexible working hours allow the women employees can spend more time with family and improve their attendance. The reason is that Singapore women are very cautious of their families. Flexible work locations can prevent women employees from always needing to request leave because they need to take care of their children or the elders.  

Prevent in-office unfair treatment

The second advantage is the flexible work schedule allows the female employees to set their own work schedule. This can prevent unfair treatment such as sexism, violence, and sexual harassment in the workplace as they need not be forced to work with others in the office every day.  

Maintain work-life balance

Last but not least, hybrid working can help women employees’ work-life balance and improve their attendance because flexible work locations prevent them from always needing to request leave to take care of their families.  

The flexible work schedule can help women employees far away the sexism, violence, and sexual harassment as they have the own right to set the work on their own schedule. This can protect the women employees safe and also ensures that the company’s reputation is not affected by the scandal.

Therefore, hybrid working has a great positive impact on Singapore women’s development. 

A perfect system for hybrid working in Singapore: ONES

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 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, one of the famous management systems, can help you to easily implement hybrid working with 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/. 

The post How hybrid working helps Singapore women’s development now? first appeared on ONEs Blog.