Promoting Work-Life Harmony
The promotion of work-life harmony in
Singapore is spearheaded by the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life
Strategy which comprises representatives from the Government,
unions, as well as employer and business associations. It encourages
employers to put in place work-life programmes and infrastructure at
the workplace to help employees manage work-life demands, so as to
optimise business performance. In addition, MCYS partners NFC to
promote Personal Work-life Effectiveness to generate awareness and
equip individuals with skills to integrate their multiple
responsibilities at home and at work.
Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, the Minister of
State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said, "I am happy
to announce the completion of the
National Work-life Harmony Study, which is jointly
commissioned by MCYS and NFC. I am pleased to announce that the
study shows a positive correlation between an employee¡¯s work-life
harmony and employee engagement and retention, as well as an
organisation¡¯s productivity and its bottom-line. Singapore faces a
major challenge to attract, retain and motivate talent in today¡¯s
competitive global environment. Employees are increasingly looking
for employers who can help them integrate work and family
responsibilities. Worklife harmony is therefore a strategic business
tool that businesses can harness to enhance their competitive edge."
While attaining work-life harmony may
not be an easy task, the Chairman of NFC, Mr Lim Soon Hock, believes
that "work-life harmony is achievable if individuals are committed
to making an effort to make it happen". In his own words: "The
solution may be as simple as waking up earlier to have breakfast as
a family, or going for a short getaway with your spouse. These are
small steps that help to make a big difference. I also believe that
leaders should adopt family as a leadership value and lead the way."
Moving forward, MCYS, NFC and the
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will work closely with employers to
promote a work environment that values flexibility and performance
over "face time"
2,
and to encourage employees to utilise worklife
programmes. MCYS and NFC would continue to
encourage
organisations to endorse the importance of the family and take
concrete steps to promote worklife harmony at the workplace
(Refer to Annex B for work-life
initiatives by MCYS, NFC and MOM).
Jointly issued by the Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports and the National Family
Council
Date: 6 July 2007
2 "face-time"
refers to physical presence in the office
Annex A
CORRELATION OF
WORK-LIFE HARMONY TO WORK, PERSONAL, AND FAMILY OUTCOMES
Table 1 below notes the
difference in work outcomes between respondents with high work-life
harmony scores and those with low work-life harmony scores. In
general, those who scored high on the Work-Life Harmony Index
reported greater job loyalty, satisfaction, opportunity, engagement
and performance, as well as lower job attrition. For instance, only
27% of those with low work-life harmony scores reported that they
are extremely or very loyal to their employer, while 68% of those
with high work-life harmony scores reported this high level of
loyalty.
Table 2 notes the
difference in family outcomes of those with low work-life harmony
scores and those with high work-life harmony scores. In general,
those scoring high on the Work-Life Harmony Index reported higher
family and marital satisfaction, and better relationships with their
children, families, and friends. In addition, they also want and
actually have more children in the family. For example, only 34% of
those with low work-life harmony scores reported a very high level
of family satisfaction, while 73% of those with high work-life
harmony scores reported such a high level of satisfaction. The ideal
and actual number of children of those with high work-life harmony
are 2.37 and 2.18 respectively, as compared to 2.20 and 1.99
respectively for those with low work-life harmony.
Table 3 notes the
difference in personal outcomes of those with low worklife harmony
scores and those with high work-life harmony scores. In general,
those scoring high on the Work-Life Harmony Index reported higher
life satisfaction, greater peace in their lives, and better physical
and mental health. For example, only 33% of those with low work-life
harmony scores agreed that they are extremely/very satisfied with
their lives, while 71% of those with high work-life harmony scores
reported such a high level of satisfaction.
Annex B
Ministry of Community Development,
Youth and Sports¡¯ and National Family Council¡¯s Work-Life
Initiatives
Raise awareness and impart skills
through seminars and workshops
MCYS has developed a Personal
Work-life Effectiveness (PWLE) framework based on the four
¡®quadrants¡¯ in life - Self, Family, Work and Service.
Titled "Arrows with Soul",
the programme is designed to
increase awareness of PWLE at the workplace, schools and community,
and to equip
individuals with skills to help themselves create their desired
worklife effectiveness.
It
provides incipient steps towards a
harmonised work-life.
Since Jan 2006, 35 "Arrows with Soul"
National Proliferation seminars have been conducted so far, reaching
out to about 4,300 participants.
National Family Council "Make Family a Leadership
Value" Workgroup
The "Make Family a Leadership Value"
workgroup was formed under the National Family Council (NFC) to
encourage
leadership from the people, private and public sectors
embrace family as a leadership value
and take concrete
steps to promote work-life harmony at the workplace. Business
leaders should identify
with the employees¡¯ need to care for and spend time with their
family, and help them manage work and family/personal commitments.
The National Family Council supported
the Distinguished Speaker Series "A Conversation with Steve Ballmer"
by IDA and Microsoft in May 2007. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO,
addressed business leaders in Singapore on the topic "Innovation and
People". The event offered an excellent opportunity to promote
family as a leadership value to the business leaders.
In 2006, MCYS supported the
organisation of a PWLE seminar for
organisation leaders by NFC and the Singapore National Employers'
Federation (SNEF). MCYS and NFC will also be supporting "The Heart
of Success" PWLE talk for CEOs by Focus on the Family on 6 July
2007.
The aim of these
seminars was to raise CEOs'
awareness of PWLE as a strategic business tool to help their staff
integrate their work and personal/family life,
and achieve a win-win outcome for both the organisation and
employees.
Developing resources to proliferate PWLE principles
MCYS has been developing and will
continue to develop resources such as the
Arrows With Soul e-portal, PWLE guidebook, PWLE calendar etc.
to
sustain awareness and help individuals
internalise PWLE principles and tools.
These resources provide useful
tips and advice on PWLE, and encourage individuals to take incipient
steps towards achieving PWLE.
PWLE advertorials were also produced
in dailies and tabloids to raise awareness of the importance of PWLE.
For example, a series of advertorials were published in Business
Times, Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Minggu, Tamil Murasu,
and the New Paper in Mar 2007. The advertorials featured well-known
personalities and individuals who managed to integrate family life
and work, together with practical tips and community resources.
Providing funding for PWLE talks and efforts
MCYS provides funding
support, including subsidy on
speaker fees, to encourage community partners and business
organisations to conduct PWLE talks for the general public and
employees. Organisations can
apply for grants from the Work-Life Works (WoW!) Fund,
administered by MOM, to defray the costs of introducing measures
that help employees better achieve work-life harmony, including PWLE
Workplace Programmes.
¡¡
Ministry of Manpower¡¯s Work-Life
Initiatives
Work-Life Works! (WoW!) Fund
The $10m Work-Life Works! (WoW!) Fund
was introduced to facilitate the development and implementation of
work-life strategies at the workplace.
The
objective is to enhance the quality of workplaces so that employees
would be more engaged and productive.
This would have a positive impact on the bottom-line
of organisations. In view of the good response to the WoW! Fund, the
Government is topping up the fund by another $10 million.
Work-Life Excellence Awards
The Ministry also staged the
Work-Life Excellence Awards in July 2006. The biennial Award
recognises forward-thinking organisations with effective work-life
strategies in Singapore. It pays tribute to employers that are
committed to helping employees harmonise work and personal
commitments.
The Award
also serves to encourage other
employers to implement work-life strategies for the benefit of their
organisations and employees.
The next Work-Life Excellence Award would be awarded
in 2008.
Work-Life seminars and conference
Together with partners from the
Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy (Tricom), MOM staged the
inaugural Work-Life Harmony Week in July 2005. The event comprised
seminars and other events for both senior management and HR
practitioners to promote work-life strategy in Singapore. In July
2007, MOM would be partnering Tricom partners for the Work-Life
Conference 2007.
The
Conference brings together the government, the
employers and union representatives to
promote greater adoption of worklife initiatives in Singapore.
It is a platform for
CEOs as well as HR leaders and practitioners to learn more about
work-life issues and network with like-minded peers.
Resources promoting work-life strategy
MOM also continues to promote
work-life harmony practices through various media. For example, a
four-part documentary series entitled Work-Life Work$ - which
featured organisations that had implemented successful work-life
strategies as well as interviews with industry experts - was aired
on Channel NewsAsia earlier this year.
Source:
www.mcys.gov.sg Media Release 6 Jul 2007
¡¡