SINGAPORE’s tripartite guidelines on flexible work arrangements (FWAs) will not just cover work-from-home arrangements or employees in office jobs, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang on Wednesday (Jan 31).

Rather, these guidelines, to be introduced later this year, will cover a range of FWAs that include flexible shift timings and flexible workloads; such arrangements can help caregivers and are suitable for frontline and shift workers, she said.

Asked by the media whether the guidelines cover all workers, including foreign work-pass holders, she replied that they were still being discussed, but added: “Our current thinking is that to be inclusive, we ought to include everyone, as far as possible.”

Gan was speaking during a visit to AsiaOne Online by the workgroup putting together the flexi-work guidelines. The group is on an engagement drive with employers and employees.

AsiaOne has flexi-place arrangements, under which workers are allowed to work remotely six days a month. There are also flexi-load and flexi-time arrangements made with employees on a case-by-case basis, said chief executive officer Sean Ler. (* see amendment note below) 

The national-level guidelines drawn up by representatives of the unions, employers and the government aim to empower employees to ask for FWAs, and to give employers a process with which to “reasonably and fairly evaluate” these requests, said Gan.

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“What we really hope to see is that there will be further adoption of flexible work arrangements at workplaces,” she said. A Ministry of Manpower survey has found that seven in 10 employers offered FWAs on a sustained regular basis in 2022, up from five in 10 employers in 2019.

“For employees, it’s about being able to better balance work and life needs, especially those who are caregivers,” said Gan. “As for the employers, we hope that through flexible work arrangements, they can become more attractive when recruiting people and retaining talent.”

Asked about feedback received so far, Gan noted that employers have been concerned about productivity and “parity”, especially if some workers are allowed to work from home, and others are not.

“We would like to clarify with employers that when it comes to making decisions on the type of flexible work arrangements to approve, it is all right for them to think of the impact – not just on the individual employees, but on the team, on the business and on the clients as well,” she said.

Employees, on their part, worry that asking for FWAs might make them seem less committed, she noted.

“The guidelines, when published, will try to normalise the process of requesting for flexible work arrangements,” she said. “We hope that employees who genuinely need flexible work arrangements will feel that it is OK – it is acceptable and easy for them to request flexible work arrangements.”

* Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Sean Ler is chief operating officer of AsiaOne. He is chief executive officer of AsiaOne.