In today’s world, many activities are interconnected and integrated. Activities in one part of the world have to keep in pace with activities in other parts of the world. Moreover with the constantly improving technology, human activities are getting more efficient and effective. Therefore to remain competitive, efficiency in operation of activities has to improve constantly. Singapore is not spared from this effect of globalization. Ministry of Manpower (MOM) (2005) reports that many services in Singapore have to provide round the clock service 7 days a week and businesses in Singapore are affected by events in countries of another time zone. This causes operations of companies to be perpetually active even after office hours. There is thus no longer a clear divide between work and after work. This has led to the invasion of work into personal time. According to a Robert Half’s 2011 survey, 69% of Singapore employees still pay attention to work after office hours (Robert Half, 2011). This survey supports the loss of work-life balance that working Singaporeans are facing today.
The Singapore government has put in place measures to mitigate the loss of work-life balance in working Singaporeans. However, the attainment of work-life balance is contingent upon the employee to play a more active role.
The government has put in much effort to promote work-life balance in the workplace by setting up the tripartite committee of MOM, National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) in the year 2000. This tripartite is responsible for setting up the Work-Life Strategy. Under the Work-Life Strategy schemes such as Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) and Family Care Leave aims to help working Singaporeans achieve work-life balance. Although there were success cases of use of FWA to promote work-life balance such as Kleen-Pak Products Pte Ltd and Singapore General Hospital (MOM, 2013), but these cases are rare and few. The reality is that many employers are unsupportive of flexible work arrangements; 7 in 10 employers are unsupportive of flexible work arrangements (Chew, 2013).
Yeo (2012) assess that the underlying problem is that employers have difficulty trusting employees to maintain work competency if they spend lesser time in the office. The onus is on the employee to solve this issue in order to achieve work-life balance. This is corporations will not help us to achieve work-life balance due to the unsupportive nature of employers towards FWA. It is up to the individuals, the employees, to be responsible for the kind of work-life balance that they want (TED Talks, 2010). The Institute of Singapore Charted Accountants (2009) further reiterates the role of employee in achieving work-life balance where employees need to initiate the discussion with the employers to come to a middle ground on the issue of employer’s expectation of work quota and the ability of employee to achieve that quota, if FWA is to be adopted.
Improvement in communication technologies has allowed employees to easily access their work even after office hours, such as using their tablets and smartphones. It is thus almost impossible for employees to abstain from work after office hours. However, individuals can play a greater role to achieve work-life balance by adopting certain practices in their daily lives. TED Talks (2010) mentioned that corporations and employers are out to get the most out of employees. As a result, employees should not expect employers to readily offer assistance to them to attain work-life balance. Instead, individuals have to be responsible for setting the boundaries of work in their lives (TED Talks, 2010). The solution to the loss of work-life balance does not equate to making drastic changes in our daily lives, as supported by TED Talks (2010) that “Being more balanced doesn’t mean dramatic upheaval in your lives.” Given Singapore’s working culture it is impossible to totally abstain from work after office hours. Therefore, employees should commit to set aside time, perhaps just an hour a day, where they detach themselves from work and engage in personal activities. Although, the amount of personal time set aside may not huge, but as TED Talks (2010) mentioned, “With the smallest investment in the right places, you can radically transform the quality of your relationships and the quality of your live” and this should contribute to a better work-life balance.
In conclusion, although the Singapore government has rolled out many initiatives to promote work-life balance in Singapore, but the unwillingness and unsupportive attitude of employers towards these measures has limited the success of existing initiatives solving the loss of work-life balance in working Singaporeans. Therefore, individuals should play a more active role to modify their lifestyle and utilize existing initiatives to attain work-life balance.
References
Chew, W. L. (Producer). (2013, March 01). News 5 tonight [Television broadcast]. Singapore: Channel 5.
Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants. (2009, November 6). Achieving work life balance: ICPAS Dinner & Dialogue with Mr Teo Ser Luck Part 2 [Video file]. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aBN2eHxamY
Ministry Of Manpower. (2005) Work-Life harmony report: findings and recommendations for employers on how to use work-life strategies to optimize business performance. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/employment-practices/WLSREPORTFINAL.pdf
Ministry Of Manpower (2013). The work-life grant: better work-life harmony for all. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.mom.gov.sg/Documents/employment-practices/Work-Life%20Grant%20Booklet%20(online%20viewing)%20FINAL.pdf
Robert Half. (2011). 69% of Singapore professionals stay glued to work after office hours. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from http://www.roberthalf.com.sg/id/PR-03136/69-percent-of-singaporeans-glued-to-work-after-office-hours
TED Talks. (2010, May). Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work [Video file] Retrieved October 16 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdpIKXLLYYM
Yeo, M. B. (2012). Tune up for success in work and life. Retrieved October 16, 2013, from National University of Singapore, National University of Singapore Business School Web site: https://bizalum.nus.edu/nbs/lifelongdetails.aspx?id=240
No comments:
Post a Comment