Working from home should continue as a ‘default setting’ and used to the ‘maximum extent’, says minister
Singapore will start phase two of the nation’s gradual reopening from June 19 onwards.
In a press conference, Minister Lawrence Wong appealed to everyone to be responsible when undertaking activities as majority of restrictions are lifted during this phase. He reminded that a relaxing of restrictions does not mean we can “let our guard down”.
He also said that remote working arrangements should continue as a “default setting” and should be used to the “maximum extent”.
“Work from home continues to be an important measure for phase two, so we would still ask all employers to make work from home or telecommuting a default setting,” said Wong. “Even if more businesses are allowed to reopen, they should continue to ensure that the staff who can work from home, continue to work from home.
“That will also help with the public transport issue, cos even if more businesses were to open but if they continue to maintain the discipline for staff to WFH, then that will hopefully reduce the number of commuters during peak periods.”
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It’s also in the employers’ interest to operate in this manner, he said, as a failure of taking safe management practices seriously, including failure to enforce social distancing, may lead to potential clusters and quarantine orders as well as a possible office closure or penalties – affecting the business operations.
However, companies that continue to be responsible and work with split team arrangements, allowing as many of their employees to continue working from home, can safely return to work and will benefit from business continuity.
Some activities that can resume in phase two, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH) include:
Practices such as 1m social distancing and the wearing of masks outside will continue to be a norm.
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In the statement, MOH clarified that while most activities will be allowed to resume at the start of phase two, the resumption of a small number of activities will take more time.
“These are activities or settings where large numbers of people are likely to come into close contact, often in enclosed spaces, and for prolonged periods of time,” stated MOH. “Overseas and local experience has shown that these settings can spawn large clusters of infections, given the number of close contacts between individuals in the course of such activities.”
Activities that will take longer to resume include religious services and congregations, libraries and museums, large-scale events like conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs. Also, entertainment venues such as bars, nightclubs, cinemas and attractions will remain closed for now.
“With the commencement of phase two, it is not business as usual back to where we were before COVID-19,” Minister Gan Kim Yong said at the press conference. “We’ve come a long way since then. Many things have changed. At the time when we first started, we had a press conference [with an audience] – now we have virtual press conferences.
“Even with the start of phase two, we need to continue to observe safe distancing measures. In fact, social responsibility and personal discipline will become even more important as we’re going to see more interaction between people. Rules and regulations are one thing but personal responsibility and being self-disciplined are even more important to protect yourself and loved ones.”
