Most workers in Singapore want a four-day week, survey finds

Visitors gather on the jetty by the Merlion statue in Singapore. Most Singapore employees want a four-day work week to help them achieve better balance in their lives, the Straits Times reported. — AFP

Seven in 10 Singapore employees want a four-day work week to help them achieve better balance in their lives, the Straits Times reported on Aug 1, citing a July poll conducted by Milieu Insight.

Some companies in Singapore are already experimenting with a shorter working week, according to the report. New York-listed PropertyGuru Group Ltd is giving staff more rest days, as are smaller businesses including barbershop chain Sultans of Shave and dental practice DP Dental.

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Flexible employment arrangements have been in the spotlight in recent years, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced millions of people to work from home. In a six-month experiment that is the largest of its kind in the world, 70 companies in the UK are currently allowing staff to work a four-day week without a reduction in wages.

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The Singapore National Employers Federation will be watching the outcomes of the UK trial but will not endorse it, the Straits Times quoted SNEF executive director Sim Gim Guan as saying, adding "There is no one-size-fits-all type of work arrangement that can apply to all workplaces.” – Bloomberg