A forward looking company that looks after the welfare and needs of its employees – that was how Senior Quality Assurance Engineer Winnie Yeong described Greenwave Systems Singapore, an Internet of Things (IoT) software and services company. She has been with the company for the last three years.
“The management is really supportive of its staff with families. They’re really understanding of our needs. I know people in other companies who feel stressed and are scared to take leave to spend quality time with the family. But that’s not the case here.
“The best thing about the company is that it understands that life is not all about work. They find it important that we spend quality time with our families as well,” said Ms Yeong, who is currently in her 30s.
Working from Home
When Ms Yeong was carrying her first child back in 2014, she often had morning sickness. Empathising with her, the management gave her time-off and let her work from home instead.
And when her maternity leave ended, Ms Yeong was able to use the lactation room that the company provides its nursing mothers.
Ms Yeong still benefits from the family-friendly initiatives and it was only a few months ago when she was allowed to work from home again to take care of her daughter who was unwell.
“The company is results-oriented. As long as we complete our tasks for the day, the bosses are fine with employees working from home,” she said.
Being true to that stance, the management promoted Ms Yeong to Senior Quality Assurance Engineer in April this year.
The company’s human resource spokesperson said that Ms Yeong’s promotion was based solely on her performance and the company often assures its employees that it does not penalise any of them who tap on their pro-family initiatives.
Building Trust
Currently, the company has 90 workers and among them, four are on a fixed schedule where they are allowed to start and end work earlier, 10 are on a flexible work schedule, 10 are working from home by telecommuting and a new mother who is allowed an hour each day to use the lactation room.
Although the company has always had a culture of being pro-family, Greenwave Systems Singapore formalised the family-friendly practices by working with NTUC’s Women and Family Unit to tap on the Workpro Work-Life Grant and the U Flex Family-Friendly Grant last year.
Greenwave Systems Singapore General Manager and Quality Assurance Vice-President Alan Lee said: “We look at implementing such initiatives in a practical, broad approach. It’s really to ensure flexibility for our employees to achieve a work-life balance without compromising performance.
“By being more caring, we go beyond having a mere transactional working relationship. It goes to a more personal level and it builds trust. That goes a long way in retaining our employees.”
