SINGAPORE — Could a four-day work week be the new norm? Nearly a third of Singapore workers (32 per cent) surveyed expect that to be the case in the next five years, a new poll has found.
In fact, the reality of a four-day work week may not be too far away: One in five (21 per cent) workers here say that their employers already offer such a work arrangement to promote positive mental health at work.
This is the highest among the four Asia Pacific nations surveyed, according to payroll and human resources solution provider ADP, which released the survey findings on Tuesday (April 2).
Around 20 per cent of respondents in India, 14 per cent of China respondents, and 11 per cent of Australia respondents said their bosses provide employees with a four-day work week option.
ADP’s People at Work 2023 survey also found that 10 per cent of Singapore respondents surveyed are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for a shorter work week.
The study polled a total of 32,612 employees and gig workers in 17 countries between Oct 28 and Nov 18, 2022. Of these, 7,721 respondents were from four countries in the Asia Pacific — Singapore, Australia, China, and India.
Speaking to TODAY on the findings, employees who have worked under these arrangements tout the benefits to employee wellbeing and satisfaction, which human resources experts said have a positive impact on talent retention.
For mother-of-two Tiffany Koh, being able to work a four-day work week was a key consideration for her when she decided to take up a shorter work week from 2022 to March 2024.
Ms Koh, whose children are both aged three and under, had worked at a non-profit organisation at the time before it shut down after its founder relocated overseas.
The 32-year-old, who now works as a freelance consultant, told TODAY that the nature of her husband’s work meant he also had to work on the weekends.
“If I did a five-day work week and weekends are (spent) taking care of the kids, I literally have no rest, so I wanted an arrangement that was flexible and which could give me some respite,” she added.
A shorter work week for Ms Koh required her to clock in between 9am and 5pm from Tuesday to Friday, with employment benefits that were prorated to the hours she worked — an arrangement her then-employer was agreeable to.
Others said they ended up being more disciplined, focused, and productive to ensure they completed their tasks on time when they work for four days per week instead of five.
Mr Charles Ho, a 28-year-old project manager in a creative agency who works from Tuesdays to Fridays, said: “I would say because you’re only working four days, you have to be incredibly focused during the days that you do work… You’ll often have to be incredibly disciplined to stay the course.”
To him, a four-day work week could indeed be the norm for the whole of Singapore, as in the past people might have resisted the idea due to having an “efficiency” mindset, in which people thought five days was the minimum period needed to get the work done for the week.
Such mindsets have changed, especially with younger generations of workers desiring greater work-life balance, and with developments in artificial intelligence likely to aid workers in their daily tasks, he said.
A NEW NORM? MAYBE NOT SO SOON, EXPERTS SAY
Apart from improved work-life balance, human resource experts also told TODAY that a shorter work week could foster happier and more engaged staff members and may even result in potential productivity gains despite the shorter hours clocked.
But as to whether it may become a norm, the experts said that there is still some way to go.
Mr Richard Bradshaw, Asia chief executive officer of Australia-based headhunting boutique Ethos BeathChapman, said that not only is it difficult to predict how plausible such a reality can be, but there are also hurdles to overcome before Singapore gets there.
Having a four-day work week as a norm across Singapore would hinge on a trigger or turning point, such as how Covid-19 spurred the uptake of flexible work arrangements, he said, referring to the pandemic as a “catalysing incident”.
“If any region appears closer to adopting four-day work weeks, it may be countries in Europe, where shorter work weeks are the norm. Tiger economies and growth economies (are less likely) to adopt four-day weeks,” he said.
Commenting on ADP’s survey findings, Mr Bradshaw said that such optimism for a four-day work week to become the norm could have stemmed from the rise of hybrid work models after the pandemic, which resulted to also the need of hiring professional office cleaning, along with an increased focus on employee wellbeing and productivity.
“Singapore is a tiger economy, but it also cherishes its status as a well-being and family-friendly ecosystem. Therefore, it’s evident that many living and working here would be excited by the prospect of a work system that takes another step in that direction,” he added.
Ms Jaya Dass, Asia Pacific managing director for permanent recruitment at Randstad, said that in general for such a reality to occur, it will usually be due to government regulations and be led by the public sector.
“Usually, when government and public sector adopt practices (first), the private sector in Singapore tends to follow,” she said, adding that companies may also take heed from what the global norm is.
From Ms Dass’ point of view, such an arrangement may also not be suited for some industries due to the services they provide, such as in healthcare as well for public sector work, she said.
As norms shift, however, these sectors may be under growing social pressure to offer four-day work weeks, lest they lose their shine among jobseekers.
Mr Kenji Naito, group chief executive officer at recruitment agency Reeracoen, also noted several obstacles when shifting from a five-day week to four, such as initial adjustments to operational schedules, impacts on workflow continuity, and the need to address coverage gaps during non-workdays.
As such, the overall plausibility of a four-day work week as the norm in Singapore rests on a “delicate balance between meeting business objectives and addressing the evolving needs and expectations of the workforce”, said Mr Naito.
MORE THAN ONE IN FIVE HERE ALREADY ENJOY A FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK OPTION
Employers who rolled out a shorter work week for their staff members said such a practice has helped to boost talent retention, business performance, employees’ focus and their energy levels at work.
Mr Joel Toh, general manager of recruitment agency The Supreme HR Advisory, told TODAY that the firm started offering a four-day work week to some of its staff about five years ago.
They did so with the intent of offering “above market rate benefits” for staff retention purposes, he added.
Mr Toh said the company also wanted to instil a culture of productivity instead of one fixated on “clocking hours”, which they believed a “performance-based” four-day work week would be able to convey.
To incentivise employees, staff members who achieve their key performance indicators (KPI) goals would be rewarded with a significantly shorter four-day work week.
While the company operates between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday, Mr Toh said that employees who meet their KPI goals are required to only work between 10am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday. They also enjoy the entire Friday off.
This means their working hours are reduced by almost 50 per cent, from 44 hours a week to just 24 hours, while they still enjoy the same salary. Currently, about 40 per cent of the firm’s employees qualify for the four-day work week arrangement, he added.
Still, the move is not without its trade-offs, Mr Toh admitted.
He said the firm also faces a challenge with mentorship, as the shortened hours affect the training and guidance of new staff members, leading to a longer training curve and thus slowing down the company’s expansion.
However, he believes the trade-offs are worth it as better-performing staff members feel appreciated for their hard work. In turn, they are further incentivised to perform better, Mr Toh added.
Agreeing, Ms Anna Patterson, founder of production company Sight Agency, said that some benefits of the shorter work week include a focused team that is alert and energised at work and more communicative about aspects of their projects even on their day off. Her firm has offered all employees a four-day work week since its inception in March 2022.
Similarly, Mr Danny Tan, managing director of public relations agency Grayling Singapore, decided to implement a 4.5-day work week in his company after a successful five-month pilot last year.
Asked why he did so, Mr Tan said he saw that reducing the work week during the trial improved the overall business performance, reduced employee absenteeism by 20 per cent and decreased staff churn — with the agency reporting zero departures since the start of the initiative, compared to the industry norm of 25 per cent.
Mr Tan said: “The 4.5-day work week is an attempt to give some time back to our employees to work on the other things in their life, so that when they show up for work, they are at their absolute best.”
