Flexibility emerges as most-cited measure to boost mental health
More than four in five Singaporeans want their organisations to introduce flexible working arrangements as they cited the model as the best measure their employers can rollout to boost their mental health.
These are the findings of UOB's ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study, which included a thousand Singaporeans in its respondents, The Independent reported.
According to the report, 85% are eager for their companies to introduce some form of flexible work arrangement, with the most in-demand approach being hybrid work. Other approaches that employees favoured include:
- Working from home (21%)
- Entirely flexible arrangements (25%)
Only 16% of the respondents expressed willingness to return to the office on a full-time basis, despite nearly half of the local respondents saying they have already returned to the office full-time, according to the report.
Only seven per cent are still working from home, while 45% are under some form of flexible work arrangement, it added.
There is an ongoing disconnect between employers and employees in Singapore when it comes to flexibility, according to previous research.
Indeed recently found that while 83% of employers claim they provide flexibility, only 61% of employees think this is the case.
Other methods to boost mental health
The demand for flexibility comes as more than half of the employees (59%) surveyed said flexible working hours is a measure they would like their employers to provide as a form of mental health and related support.
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Other measures to boost mental health include:
- Cashing in unused annual leave (37%)
- Sabbatical leave (31%)
- Mental health days (30%)
- Flexible workload options (29%)
According to the report, only about 70% of local office workers in Singapore expressed satisfaction with the mental health support provided by their employers.
This is behind the 81% when other respondents from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are taken into consideration.
In Singapore, the country's Ministry of Manpower has long urged employers to offer flexible working arrangements permanently to help employees achieve work-life balance.