Distinguished Guests,
Comrades, Ladies & Gentlemen
I trust you’ve been having a fruitful discussion on a subject which is very close to the hearts of many of us here this morning. As shown in the skit, flexible work arrangements can help empower our workers to have more ownership over their work. This leads to better productivity and translates into more engaged employees.
Business Case for Flexible Work
Some employers and supervisors may still have a bit of scepticism about flexibility at work. They may worry that introducing flexibility will make their firm less competitive. The reality is in fact the opposite. That is, if properly introduced and managed, introducing flexibility at work can provide a company with significant competitive advantage especially if the firm’s rivals don’t know how to manage flexibility.
This is why I’m glad that we are able to hold this seminar which will deepen our understanding and the implementation of flexibility at work in a way that is beneficial for workers while practical and sustainable for Singapore’s businesses. Removing such obstacles that hinder female participation in our workforce is a common objective of both the NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat and TAFEP.
Progressive employers realise that flexible work arrangements brings benefits such as improving their employer branding and their ability to attract and retain talent. This is important as more and more people want to have better control of their time, and where and how they work. In addition, flexible work can also help to increase flexibility and reduce business costs through the offering of part-time work to meet short term manpower demands or reducing office overhead costs when some of the work can be done remotely. More employers than ever are introducing flexibility into their work operations.
NTUC WDS’s Survey Findings – employers need more than just funding to help them effectively implement flexible work arrangements
But there are also employers who want to introduce flexible work arrangements but don’t know how to do so. There are others who have introduced flexible work arrangements but face implementation issues. In a snapshot survey of 56 companies which was recently conducted by the NTUC WDS, awareness of flexible work arrangements is high among employers. The majority of them also believe that there is a business case for implementing flexible work arrangements at their workplace. More than two thirds of the employers offer flexible work arrangements to their employees.
However, over 90 % of those who had implemented flexible work arrangements experienced the following difficulties after they had introduced them:-
• 37% faced challenges in managing staff schedule
• 30% faced challenges in managing staff’s expectations
• 20% faced challenges in measuring staff’s performance
When asked what help they would require:-
• 50% wanted help in measuring employee’s performance
• 49% wanted help on how to manage employees on flexible work arrangements
• 45% wanted help on how to redesign jobs to make them more flexible
• 36% wanted financial help through Flexi-Works Funding
These findings show that our efforts in raising awareness and encouraging employers to introduce flexibility at the workplace are having an impact as many more are now aware of the need and benefits of flexible work. However, many lack the capabilities and skills and need support and guidance on how to effectively implement flexible work. There is also a need for them to communicate better with employees to manage expectations, clarify needs and clearly set the targets or outcomes to be achieved. However, these are not insurmountable challenges. The NTUC WDS and TAFEP will work with our partners to organise programmes and provide direct assistance to companies needing such help. Hence, NTUC WDS research findings are useful to give us a better idea as to the kind of specific help that is needed by companies wishing to embark on flexible work.
Other Relevant Research Findings (TAFEP)
To this end, earlier this year, TAFEP had also conducted research among 3,500 employees. I’d like to share two findings, not previously released, that may be helpful as firms seek to understand how to respond more effectively to their workers’ need for flexible work.
Flexible working hours rated much higher by females
First, flexibility in working hours was rated much higher by females than their male counterparts - irrespective of the generation that they belonged to. This is understandable given that many female employees, whether single or married, still have family responsibilities to take care of. Organisations should be aware of this as they plan their programmes.
And with the development in inforcom technology, flexible working arrangements and even home based jobs are not foreign concepts anymore. For example, Kelly Services, has a Kelly@Home programme which explores work at home opportunities. If companies can think out of the box, the benefits of home based job include lower overhead costs; better business continuity in a crisis e.g. during H1N1 last year; a more diverse pool of talent; more varied operating hours; and most importantly, a workforce that is measured by performance rather than face time. And if you are environmentally conscious, you can also reduce your carbon footprint when you do not need to travel to work.
Females have a slight preference for older managers
A second surprising finding of TAFEP’s research which was conducted earlier this year, showed that while most Singaporean employees (63%) don’t consider the age of their manager relevant to their work, among those who did feel more comfortable working with an older manager, some female employees (33%) appeared to have a slight preference for older managers compared to their male colleagues (28%). Of course this preference declines for both genders as the employee gets older. I don’t know for certain why there is this slightly higher preference among females. The survey did not go into these details. But I suspect that it may reflect that a more mature supervisor (whether male or female) is likely to have a better appreciation of the work-life concerns and is more understanding when it comes to family commitments and responsibilities.
What is the possible implication of this? If you are young (whether male or female) and supervising more mature female employees, take a little bit more effort to understand the work-life issues of your employees if you want them to perform at their best. You will find that when employees can take care of their family responsibilities, they will concentrate and perform better at their jobs. Don’t assume that the more mature employees are the same as you in all areas and that they have the same liking for say Lady Gaga or Adam Lambert as you have.
Let me pose a few questions for you to think about as you continue with this seminar. Do you think your organisation or your supervisor has a good understanding of your work-life concerns? If so, do you see programmes and values that support this? I want to clarify that it is not possible, practical or reasonable to expect an employer to address all the concerns of employees. Employees too must play their part in working responsibly so that flexible work arrangements will result in a win-win solution for both employees and employers. But for the employer, making the effort to understand employee’s work-life concerns and trying to address these concerns, where practical, makes good business sense. If an organisation wants to open their doors to untapped female talent, it helps to provide a work environment where these female employees can feel welcomed, included and equipped to be productive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, let me emphasise again that ensuring that flexibility at work really works is important. Today we have many work-flexibility “experts” here. I encourage you to tap on their experience and expertise as you continue with the rest of this seminar. I wish you a very rewarding discussion.
Thank you.
