News

PeopleWorldwide Consulting’s managing director David Leong observed that workers cannot disconnect from work after a workday, leading to impaired well-being and burnout ( June 13). With the multitude of remote working apps and collaborative tools surreptitiously assailing employees round the clock and disrupting their schedules, it is unsurprising that employees can no longer distinguish between work time and personal time, making them feel like they are constantly working. Hence, companies must drive home the correct mindset that it is all right for employees to switch off from work, that it should not be a case of if you could be working, then you should be working. It has already been reported that Singapore has more quiet quitters compared with the global average, which is of little surprise and corroborates earlier reports that Singapore employees are among the least engaged in Asia. This can come with a hefty price tag for the Singapore economy. For instance, the cost of employee well-being impairment has been estimated to be $16 billion a year, which will have an impact in terms of workplace absenteeism and productivity loss. This also impacts companies’ competitiveness in terms of talent attraction and retention. Indeed, burnout is such a problem that there are reports of even schoolchildren these days experiencing it. For Singapore to remain a magnet for top international talent while concurrently grooming a strong pool of local talent, it behoves companies to take concrete actions now to be invested in employee engagement and well-being, and in the process increase productivity and innovation, accelerate growth, and better recruit and retain employees.