Findings in Singapore Workplace Report 2026 that Workers under 35 are Less Engaged and More Stressed
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns findings from the Singapore Workplace Report 2026 regarding higher stress and lower engagement among workers under 35, as raised by Ms Cassandra Lee. Ms Lee asked if these issues relate to career uncertainty and whether the Ministry tracks qualitative indicators like onboarding and mentorship. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng replied that the Ministry monitors quantitative labor indicators but does not track qualitative factors due to measurement challenges. He highlighted the introduction of the Singapore Opportunity Index to help larger firms benchmark outcomes in hiring, career progression, and retention. The Ministry of Manpower will continue to explore support for young workers while encouraging employers to improve early-career workplace experiences.
Transcript
41 Ms Cassandra Lee asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has studied the findings of the Singapore Workplace Report 2026 that workers under 35 are less engaged and more stressed than their older colleagues; and (b) whether these findings are assessed to be linked to uncertainty over career progression, skills relevance and long-term career prospects.
42 Ms Cassandra Lee asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry tracks indicators relating to the quality of early-career workplace experiences, including onboarding, mentorship, managerial support and retention, among workers under 35 years of age; and (b) if so, whether any significant gaps in these indicators have been identified across industry sectors.
Dr Tan See Leng: We are aware of the Singapore Workplace Report 2026, produced by the Singapore Institute of Directors and Gallup, and we are studying its findings. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) monitors a range of labour market and workplace indicators related to youth employment outcomes, including training participation, working conditions and labour productivity. We do not track the quality of onboarding, mentorship and managerial support even though they are important factors in early workplace experiences because these are difficult to measure consistently and reliably across firms and sectors.
MOM recognises the importance of encouraging positive early-career workplace experiences. We recently introduced the Singapore Opportunity Index, which assesses the extent to which larger firms create economic opportunities for their employees in areas, such as hiring, career progression and retention. This supports employers to benchmark their workforce outcomes and review their strategies towards young talent.
MOM will continue to explore ways to better support young workers.