‘Flexible work arrangements key to future of nation’

Flexible work arrangements are the way forward, especially as they help more women and mature workers participate in the labour force, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng at a panel discussion.

Tan participated in the discussion held in conjunction with the launch of the Tripartite Collective at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay hotel.

The collective facilitates the exchange of ideas on issues faced by employers and employees.

It also hopes to foster the spirit of tripartism in Singapore – that is, collaboration among the government, employers and the labour union.

Regarding the future of work, Tan said: “I think the next key disruption is going to be flexible work arrangements.

“The Manpower Ministry, together with the tripartite partners, has developed these standards.

“We hope that everyone will support this and eventually, in about a year from now, we ... will be able to come up with some guidelines.”

Flexible arrangements are also a good way to bring more people into the workforce, such as women with caregiving responsibilities and mature workers, he said.

Fellow panellist Robert Yap, who is president of the Singapore National Employers Federation, added that there are many forms of flexible work arrangements, and that everyone has to be open and innovative in the way they are carried out.

Labour chief Ng Chee Meng noted that as a big employer, NTUC also co-created policies around flexible work arrangements, even as all workers are allowed to return to the workplace.

Meanwhile, Ninja Van chief executive Lai Chang Wen said returning to the office is still vital for building relationships between people.

“One of the simpler things we’ve done is having everyone come to the office at a fixed time. Once (coming to the office) becomes too flexible, people are never certain who’s in, and you lose that interaction. We have no clock-off time. You can come for an hour and then go home,” he said. — The Straits Times/ANN