Report highlights generational differences around work-life balance, upskilling
More than half of workers in Singapore would accept a lesser-paying or a lesser work role for the benefit of their family or personal life, according to a new report from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The report, which surveyed 1,010 adults, found that 54% are open to lesser pay and lesser work roles so their families or personal lives can thrive.
By age, employees aged 55 and above were the most likely to make this trade-off at 63%, followed by employees aged 21 to 34 (53%), and employees aged 35 to 54 (49%).
"We conducted this survey to understand how prepared Singaporean workers are to survive and succeed in a global landscape facing disruptions and major restructuring, as well as our ageing demographic," said Chew Han Ei, senior research fellow at IPS and a co-author of the study, in a statement quoted by TODAY.
The findings come at a time when many employees put a premium on work-life balance amid the pandemic. Singapore's Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony in 2021 also released a set of guidelines to help people achieve work-life balance amid changes in workplace arrangements.
Preparing for change
The report also found that two in three of the respondents believe their current roles will change in the next few years. But in adapting to this change, only 58% of employees aged 55 and above believe that they need to reskill to adapt to changes in their career.
This is relatively lower than the 79% of employees aged 21 and 34 and 77% of employees aged 35 and 54.
Being closer to the retirement age can affect how employees perceive upskilling, according to Laurel Teo, senior research fellow at the IPS and co-author of the report.
"It could be because this order group feels that they're close to retirement age and hence the future changes may not affect them so much," Teo told Channel News Asia in an interview.
It could also be about the length and the huge investment put on by older employers at their current job, she added.
"So to have to start completely afresh and learn a new skill or even the job from scratch, starting on a blank slate, that's very daunting," Teo said.
Overall, three in four respondents are open to changes in their work, according to the report, with older workers the least likely to accept this (63%).
