Data on Employers Reducing Scope of Work-from-home Policies

102 Ms Lee Hui Ying asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many employers with work-from-home policies during the pandemic have since reduced the scope of these policies; and (b) whether this has been offset by an increase in employers implementing flexible work arrangements or adopting tripartite standards for work-life harmony.

Dr Tan See Leng: The proportion of employers offering scheduled tele-working¹ fell from 56.5% in 2021 to 38.4% in 2024, suggesting some scaling back as more employees returned on-site to work post-pandemic, though this remains significantly higher than 6.9% in 2019 before the pandemic.

Apart from tele-working, employees may require different types of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) based on their needs, such as flexi-hours or flexi-load arrangements. In 2024, 72.7% of employers offered at least one type of FWA², which increased from 52.7% in 2019. More employers are also providing a greater variety of FWAs to their employees, with 54.4% of employers offering at least two FWAs in 2024 compared to 20.2% in 2019.

In addition, the Tripartite Standard (TS) on Work-Life Harmony was launched in April 2021 and more than 2,100 employers have since adopted TS.