52% of Singaporeans would quit their job if they couldn't work hybrid anymore

SINGAPORE, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FlexOS, a new Singapore-based platform that recently raised $1 million to help companies manage their hybrid teams and offices with a focus on the employee experience and company culture, partnered with the leading global innovation platform and venture capital firm Plug and Play on new original research that shows hybrid work is here to stay.

Key findings from "The State of Hybrid Work in Singapore":

• 52% of Singaporean hybrid workers say they would quit their job if there were no longer an option for flexible work.
• Collaboration (1), Doing Focused Work (2), and Socializing with Colleagues (3) are the key reasons for employees to still come to the office
• 67% of hybrid workers in Singapore would be motivated to come to the office for social, creative, well-being, and training workshops
• A whopping 90% of Singaporean employees want to take an active role and create small events like lunches or doing something fun after work to ensure the team stays connected.
• 60% of employees in Singapore say that when they work from home, they have experienced Fear of Missing Out about what's happening in the office.

Hybrid Work combines work from home, office, and 'third places' like cafes and coworking spaces. And it's taking the world by storm. According to McKinsey, over 90% of companies are switching to hybrid work long-term.^[1]

Hybrid workers report higher levels of job satisfaction, engagement, and commitment.^[2] No wonder Stanford researchers have proven that hybrid work increases employee retention.^[3]

And once you have it, like many Singaporean employees, it's hard to go back. According to the research, conducted in October 2022, 1 in 2 (52%) of Singaporean employees currently practicing hybrid work say they would quit their job if there were no longer an option for flexible work.

This number goes up even further for Millennials (25-34), where 57% say they would quit without a hybrid working option. These insights make it clear that companies and employees have good reasons to be in the office; asking employees to come back entirely is at the companies' peril.

While working from home has many benefits, employees in Singapore still have good reasons to come back to the office. Amongst all options, collaboration (1), doing focused work (2), and socializing with colleagues (3) were ranked the highest.

Interestingly, Gen Z (18-24) wants to be in the office for on-the-job learning so they can get direct feedback. This makes sense, given that about 80% of learning happens by shadowing others – something that's hard to do at home.

On the other hand, millennials (25-34) choose to come into the office for the right environment and vibe to do work more than other age groups.

Human connection, which happens organically in a 9-to-5 office culture, needs to be more 'designed' in the hybrid workplace. Employers who are wondering how to attract employees back into the office should look no further than workshops.

Our research shows that 67% of hybrid workers in Singapore would be motivated to come to the office for social, creative, well-being, and training workshops.

Get-togethers such as team lunches, coffee breaks, co-working sessions, and other group activities organized by managers (53%) closely follow workshops.

Knowing that their favorite colleagues are in on a certain day is the reason to return to the office for 45% of employees.

The motivators listed above are true across all age groups, except for 54+, for whom face-to-face work meetings would be the primary motivation to come in. 

Hybrid and remote teams have a weaker sense of connection and community. But according to this study, a whopping 90% of Singaporean employees want to take an active role and create small events like lunches or doing something fun after work to ensure the team stays connected.

Of these employees, 58% would do it without any reward, whereas 42% think getting rewarded for taking the initiative would be motivating. Especially Gen Z and Millennials say they'd do that, but only if their employer rewarded them for it.

Sitting at home and realizing you're missing out on a great social moment in the office can make you feel like you're missing out. Especially in companies where these social moments get shared liberally on internal messaging platforms like Teams or Slack, people may feel left out.

The FlexOS study shows that 60% of employees in Singapore say that when they work from home, they experience Fear of Missing Out about what's happening in the office. For the 35-44 range, this number even goes up to 69%.

Access The State of Hybrid Work in Singapore report here to get the full read on the findings from the original research.

The survey was conducted through the Pollfish panel of 385 hybrid workers in Singapore, across all age ranges. This sample size is statistically significant for Singapore's total working population of over 4,000,000 employees. The survey ran in October 2022.

Respondents were invited using a double opt-in: they confirmed their interest, created a profile via a verification process, joined the respondent pool, and were invited to take the survey as they fit the targeting criteria.

Founded in 2022, FlexOS is a B2B SaaS HR Tech platform that enables companies to launch and manage successful hybrid teams and offices in Asia-Pacific. It raised $1 million in an oversubscribed round from investors who were previously in Paypal, Dropbox, and more.

The workplace platform offers employee-centric, data-driven features to solve the biggest hybrid challenges: facilitating hybrid policies, managing flexible office space, and getting people back into the office to drive employee engagement and retention.

From this, FlexOS supports HR teams and company leadership with data and insights to transform how companies approach workplace management and bring employees together in the hybrid world of work.

Learn more at www.flexos.work.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading global innovation platform and venture capital firm. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play has built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before.

Since inception in 2006, their programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 50+ locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond.

With over 50,000 startups and 500+ corporate partners, they have created a global startup ecosystem covering many different industries. Companies in their portfolio have raised billions in additional funding, including over 80 exits such as Honey, Kustomer, Dropbox, and PayPal.

For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/