Is Work From Home (WFH) here to stay in Singapore?
The answer largely depends on who you are asking. On the one hand, starting 1 December 2024, all employers in Singapore will be required to consider formal requests from employees seeking flexible work arrangements fairly. This means companies must establish processes to handle and evaluate such requests, including the option to work from home.
On the other hand, companies like Grab have recently called for employees to return to the office full-time, enforcing a mandatory five-day workweek. So, what’s really going on? Is this just a coincidence, or does it reflect a broader trend in workplace policies?
Are Companies Looking To Reset Their WFH Policies?
At DollarsAndSense, we believe some companies may aim for a “hard reset” of their WFH policies. Here’s what we mean.
It’s been almost two full years since we entered the post-pandemic years. Many companies that adjusted their work policies during the pandemic now have enough data points to guide them on whether the current work arrangement works for them.
With the upcoming tripartite guidelines on flexible work arrangement (FWA) requests applying to all companies, even organisations already offering flexibility to their employees will need to consider additional requests formally. For instance, if an employee working from home one day a week submits a request for an additional WFH day, the company must review and evaluate the request under the new guidelines.
This could lead to companies being compelled to grant more WFH days than planned. As a result, some organisations might prefer scaling back current WFH arrangements for now, anticipating that they may need to reintroduce or expand these benefits in the future to comply with the guidelines when their employees request FWA/WFH.
Some Companies Are Pre-Emptively Trying To Set Their Policy
Starting 1 December 2024, employees in Singapore will have the right to formally request Work-From-Home (WFH) or other flexible work arrangements (FWAs). However, employers still retain the right to reject such requests, provided they base their decision on valid business grounds.
These could include factors like increased costs, negative impacts on productivity or output, or the feasibility and practicality of the job role itself.
In the tripartite guidelines, one suggestion is that employers consider stating their FWA policy or approach to FWAs in job advertisements and interviews. This will help employers better manage jobseekers’ expectations of what FWAs they can provide. Thus, it can be reasonably inferred that if the company you are currently working for or looking to get a job at already states outright that they expect you to be in the office 5 days a week, then there is a good chance that any request to WFH will likely have a lower chance of being accepted.
This isn’t to say that employers that state they want workers to be in 5 days a week are automatically exempted from considering WFH requests fairly. Instead, they set clear expectations upfront, which may influence how they evaluate such requests. While they are still obligated to consider all formal requests for flexible work arrangements, their stated preference for an in-office work culture could make it less likely for WFH requests to be approved.
A More Personalised Work Arrangement?
One aspect that should not be ignored is that with FWA requests, the future of Singapore’s workforce may become more personalised, with arrangements tailored to individual needs and job roles.
Employers should explore ways to accommodate these requests—such as reviewing work processes or redistributing tasks among team members—as far as reasonably practical to ensure clients’ needs are met and the company remains productive.
However, each request should still be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, ensuring it is viable from a business perspective. This means employers are not obligated to approve identical FWAs for all employees, particularly when valid business grounds exist.
Read Also: Can A Singapore Employee (On Work-From-Home Or Work-From-Anywhere) Move To Malaysia?
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