58% of Singapore respondents are confident that they will have more job opportunities to consider in the later half of this year.
Randstad - the world’s leading human resources solutions agency - today released the results of their H1 2021 Workmonitor survey in Singapore. The bi-annual survey highlights the workforce’s latest sentiments and perceptions of the local job market.
more than 3 in 5 respondents believe they will have more job opportunities after they receive the COVID-19 vaccine
62% of local respondents agreed that they will have more employment opportunities in the future if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Meanwhile, only 49% of respondents in Hong Kong SAR felt the same way.
The vaccination roll out programme in Singapore has clearly injected a new level of confidence and assurance in our workforce. This sentiment is in line with the improving business confidence that we’ve observed since Q4 2020, where more companies started to hire new headcounts. As economic prospects become more optimistic, we can expect the uptick in hiring activities to reach pre-COVID levels in Singapore soon.
7 in 10 respondents want to return to the workplace in a post COVID-19 environment
70% of survey respondents in Singapore said they would head back to their workplace once it is possible to do so. This is the lowest in the region, with 92% of respondents in Mainland China and 85% respondents in Malaysia and Hong Kong SAR echoing this sentiment.
Their hesitation to return to the workplace could be attributed to health and safety reasons. 2 in 3 local respondents indicated their preference to continue working from home until the COVID-19 vaccine has been widely distributed to the population. 61% of respondents said they would feel unsafe at their workplace until others around them have been inoculated against COVID-19.
There is a different type of energy when working in the office. Employees are able to interact with one another in person, have more on-the-job learning opportunities, and for some, help draw a clear line between work and home. Employers will need to design new and inclusive workplace policies to protect both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees and enable hybrid working arrangements to meet the workforce’s increasing expectations for remote work.
The pandemic has irrevocably changed the way people work and their expectations of work. More employees now prefer greater work autonomy and flexibility to choose their work schedule and location. It should not come as a surprise to employers that some workers will expect remote work to continue even after the pandemic and are willing to switch employers if they are not given the option to exercise their work flexibility.
gain deeper insights into the singapore workforce
The Randstad 1H Workmonitor survey was conducted in March 2021 across 34 markets around the world with a minimum of 400 respondents in each market.
To have higher gains on work from home productivity in the new era of work, HR leaders need to recognise the importance of work-life balance and offer support programmes to support employees' physical and mental health.
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