Company-level gains aside, work-from-home options reduce strain on public infrastructure too

SINGAPORE may have enshrined the right of employees to request flexible work arrangements – under tripartite guidelines that kicked in late last year – but the return-to-office wave shows no sign of letting up.

Earlier this month, the National University of Singapore made headlines for bringing all its full-time staff back to the office for five days a week. It is just one of many employers, in Singapore and across the world, that seem keen to forget how the Covid-19 pandemic proved the feasibility of remote work.

The post-Covid era has seen no shortage of studies and think-pieces on the benefits and detriments of remote, hybrid and fully back-to-office arrangements.