Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang made this statement on September 13 in response to Member of Parliament Melvin Yong Yik Chye's two-part question.
Yong asked as to if the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is aware of any ongoing third-party studies in Singapore that explore the viability of a four-day work week in Singapore.
As a follow-up, he asked whether MOM will consider this an important topic, and thereafter prioritize and perform its own research to explore the advantages and disadvantages of a four-day work week if there are presently no such studies.
MOM is unaware of any active research.
Gan stated that MOM is unaware of any ongoing research by third parties evaluating the viability of a four-day work week in Singapore.
However, the government is monitoring comparable studies elsewhere, where 4-day work weeks are being tested or are being launched.
According to Gan, the outcomes thus far "look mixed."
In certain instances, companies claimed productivity increases. In other instances, however, the lower number of hours had to be compensated for by hiring additional labor, which increased corporate expenses.
On the other hand, some employees are afraid that working fewer hours will result in lower wages, while others are anxious that working longer hours to finish their daily chores would increase their stress levels.
Encouraged to be accommodating of all forms of flexible work arrangements
Whether a 4-day work week is viable for businesses and people ultimately depends on the industry and position, according to Gan.
Employers and employees should embrace a flexible mentality, and the 4-day work week is only one sort of flexible work arrangement.
MOM urged all parties to be receptive to all sorts of flexible work arrangements in order to find and accept those that best fit them.
The Ministry of Labor will not impose such flexible work arrangements on the public sector.
Yong then inquired whether MOM would be willing to execute a small-scale experiment with a subset of its personnel or among other areas of the public sector.
Gan stated that while firms and employees in the private or public sector are allowed to experiment with flexible work arrangements, the ministry has no plans to impose any trial or rigidity on the public sector or impose any of these formulae.
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