Work-Life -
TheGreatBalancingAct
By Melissa Heng
HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS WILL TELL YOU THAT IT'S A BATTLEGROUND OUT THERE - one where wars for talent are fought, won and lost across the work floors of countless organisations in every conceivable corner of the world without any end seemingly in sight.
In this Information Age, with global connectivity, people have become the prime source of competitive advantage, and companies as well as governments alike are cracking their brains to find the surest ways to retain their tried and tested best.
Singapore, at the crossroads of Asia, is a fully fledged participant in this amazing talent race. Thankfully, we may have come closer to finding a solution to one of the world's biggest human resource headache.
The brainchild of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), the Work-Life strategy was mooted in 2000 to encourage employers to put in place work-life practices that will help their workers manage the sometimes conflicting demands of work and home, in creative ways that will optimise work performance and create harmony at home.
Research has shown that work-life harmony is a strategic business tool to attract and keep talent - both male and female. A recent worldwide poll of more than a hundred recruiting firms by the Association of Executive Search Consultants found that 85 per cent had candidates who rejected an executive job offer in the past year because they couldn't get the flexibility they were seeking.
As Singapore's largest employer, the Public Service has since implemented a number of work-life practices, including the five-day work week in 2004. Many government agencies have also embraced flexi-work and telecommuting arrangements as well as part-time schemes. Additionally, pro-family leave benefits such as paternity leave and childcare sick leave for staff with young children have been put in place.
To further promote work-life harmony in the Public Service, every public sector agency now has a work-life advocate and work-life ambassador. The work life advocate, usually a Deputy Secretary, will champion work-life measures and ensure that work-life policies are in place and are working effectively. The work-life ambassador, on the other hand, will promote and facilitate the agency's day-to-day work-life programmes.
Such attempts to facilitate a range of work-life options have won approval from staff and supervisors alike at the workplace. Let's hear it from those who have been there, done that - and given it the thumbs up.
