A survey by workplace strategy and design firm Unispace found that 79% of Singapore workers are showing up on mandated days, more than the global average of 75%. However, only 51% of employees expect to be called back to the office at least four days a week by 2025, while 53% of employers expect the same.
This disconnect is causing frustration for both employees and employers. Employees who are now working in the office more than four days a week are only 26% happy to do so. They cite the lack of privacy and quiet as major productivity killers. Bosses, on the other hand, believe that employees are resisting the return to the office because of the commute and the lure of healthier meals at home.
About 88% of workers said subsidised travel would persuade them back to the office. However, such drama as strikes and resignations in defiance of RTO calls is unlikely to happen in Singapore, according to Associate Professor Trevor Yu of Nanyang Technological University. “We do not have a strong history of public industrial action in Singapore,” he said.
The return to office is still a work in progress in Singapore. Both employers and employees need to find a way to meet in the middle and find a solution that works for everyone.
