Singaporean staff want to hold on to remote work: Jobstreet

A majority of Singaporeans prefer to work from home for two or three days every week, according to the latest Jobstreet survey.

The need for workplace flexibility has become a prevailing sentiment among Singaporeans, according to the latest Jobstreet survey.

In its latest Decoding Global Ways of Working report, Jobstreet found that 74% of Singaporeans preferred to continue working in a hybrid arrangement, with two or three days of working from home per week, even as the pandemic blows over.

This shift was seen not only in employees in digital, knowledge, and office jobs, but also in those that work in jobs that require handling of physical goods or handling clients.

Good relationships with superiors and colleagues continue to top the list of what Singaporeans value the most at work. A good work-life balance, which ranked thrid in the list of values in 2018, was overtaken by financial compensation in 2020.

Rounding up the top values sought by Singaporean workers in the pandemic-hit year of 2020 are financial stability of employer, appreciation for work, job security, career development possibilities, learning and skills training, and flexible schedules and workplaces.

"Since the onset of the pandemic, many jobseekers have begun re-evaluating their work priorities," said JObstreet Singapore Country Manager Chew Siew Mee."Employers must adapt in order to remain attractive to top talents."

Issues of race and the environment also gained more attention in 2020, with 64% of Singaporeans advocating for environmental responsibility, and 54% prefering companies that foster diversity and inclusion.

Jobstreet surveyed 6,280 Singaporean respondents.

Lion City residents are not alone in wanting a hybrid work set-up, as 89% of global respondents to the survey likewise responded favorably to the survey option.