DOING PLATFORM WORK BY CHOICE
Mr Ang Boon Heng, director of manpower research and statistics at MOM, said there was a surge in people who preferred platform work in 2022 as there was greater demand for point-to-point transport services provided by the likes of private hire drivers.
The slight dip after that can be attributed to the trend normalising back to pre-2022 levels, he said.
“This illustrates how platform work preferences can fluctuate with broader economic and social conditions,” said Mr Ang.
“However, the underlying appeal of such work remains consistent – flexibility, freedom of choice, and more family time continue to be the top reasons workers choose this path.”
Fifty-nine per cent of those in Singapore who said they prefer to do platform work cited flexibility in work hours and location as a reason.
Thirty-one per cent of respondents cited having freedom in the choice of work, and 13 per cent cited having more time for family.
Mr Ang said MOM’s data collection on platform work formed a strong foundation of evidence that enabled well-calibrated interventions to address workers’ needs.
The proportion of primary platform workers who said they faced challenges at this job fell from 71 per cent in 2017 to 18 per cent in 2024.
The most common challenge cited was related to the uncertainty of finding sufficient work. Those who said they faced this challenge fell from 49 per cent to 7 per cent.
Those citing challenges from healthcare-related concerns fell from 37 per cent to 5 per cent, and retirement-related concerns fell from 32 per cent to 4 per cent over the same time period.
Asked what has contributed to these decreases, MOM permanent secretary Mr Ng pointed to the Platform Workers Act, which addresses work injury compensation, retirement adequacy and union representation.
On earnings, platform work associations have helped by working with platform operators on the algorithms that allow workers to have a sustainable income stream, he told reporters.
“Looking ahead, we must also track higher-skilled platform roles, not just lower-income segments,” said Mr Ng.
“By preparing early – as we did with delivery and ride-hailing workers a decade ago – we can ensure timely data and policies for this next wave of platform work.”
MOM has been conducting dedicated national surveys on platform work since 2016.
