WORK-LIFE BALANCE is a fuzzy concept. It means different things to different people, but at the core, it is having a workable split between the time and effort spent on one’s career and personal life, which includes family, leisure and personal pursuits.
About a third of Singaporeans rank a healthy work-life balance as the most important factor in their careers. And yet, only 45% of them say they have a good work-life balance, according to a recent survey by global consultancy Accenture. The comparable figure worldwide was 71%. The survey was conducted at the end of last year in 31 countries. It also found that nearly half of the Singaporeans surveyed felt they sacrificed time with their families to succeed in their careers.
Asians are well known for clocking up long hours at work, leaving little time for personal commitments. Yet, those in the Lion City seem to rack up more hours at work than those in most other countries, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The data may be dated, from the ILO’s Global Wages Report 2008-09, but it is broadly indicative. Singaporeans work more than 40 hours a week, putting them ahead of workers in the 12 other countries used for comparison in the report.
The findings on work-life balance, as well as the long working hours, highlight two points. First, the whitecollar workforce in Singapore could be more productive. Second, as Singapore has one of the fastest-ageing societies in the world, companies need to think about how they can reshape work to make it more appealing to more mature folks.
BEING MORE PRODUCTIVE
Let’s look at productivity. As a journalist, I’ve learnt there is nothing like a deadline to inspire me to get a job done. In a similar vein, if an employee sets a deadline to leave the office by 5pm, he may actually be more efficient. Of course, that could mean having to cut a long lunch break short. But by focusing on the tasks he has to deliver before 5pm, he could raise his productivity. And, he would have more time to spend with his family and friends, and on his hobbies.
Ironically, Singapore’s reliance on domestic help contributes to professionals working longer hours. Take the example of parents whose children are cared for by a maid. Now, consider those without help who leave their children at a crèche while they are at work. Parents without domestic help will have to find a way to leave the office at a reasonable hour to pick up their children from childcare. They would also have to prepare dinner; maybe do some laundry. Those with maids, however, could conceivably work late into the night, taking conference calls and answering emails, as there is someone to tackle their domestic commitments.
There is another paradox: technology. On the one hand, the Internet and smartphones allow us to be more productive. We can obtain data more efficiently and communicate more quickly. It even frees us to work from home or a coffee shop. However, it is also blurring the line between work and personal time.
According to a first-quarter survey by Randstad, a human resources services company, seven in 10 Singapore employees receive calls or emails outside regular office hours. More worryingly, two-thirds get calls or emails when they are on annual leave. Half of the respondents say their employers expect them to be available round the clock. And, while close to two-thirds of respondents are bothered by people answering their phone or responding to emails during a meeting, a third of them admit to doing the same.
RETAINING MATURE WORKERS
Structuring work so employees have more “me” time isn’t just important to encourage them to be more efficient. It is also important if we are serious about keeping older people gainfully employed. Singapore has one of the highest life expectancies in the world and about half of the 65-year-olds today are likely to live beyond the age of 85. That’s two decades beyond the statutory retirement age of 62.
The government is urging companies to retain older workers through the newly enacted Retirement and Re-employment Act. Companies have to offer reemployment to employees who reach the statutory or contractual retirement age on or after Jan 1, 2012, as long as they meet certain criteria for reemployment, such as medical fitness.
However, the reality is that most people in their 60s are unlikely to want to work 12-hour days. They don’t want to be bombarded with emails during the weekend. After a full-time career, most will want more “life” than “work” in the work-life equation.
As the Singapore workforce ages, jobs will increasingly have to be more creatively structured. Hours may have to be more flexible and part-time work will have to be more of a real option. Tackling the current dissatisfaction over the work-life balance, nebulous as the concept is, would be a big step forward if Singapore is serious about keeping people working actively for as long as they want to.
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