Thailand
41% of employees in Singapore would give up bigger bonus for remote working: Randstad
AFTER working from home for close to 2 years, 41 per cent of workers in Singapore would rather work remotely than receive a bigger bonus, a survey by human resources solutions agency Randstad has found.
This is likely due to various benefits these employees experienced while working remotely, such as saving time and money from commuting, having more personal time and higher productivity, said Randstad Singapore and Malaysia managing director Jaya Dass.
Among the respondents, at least 80 per cent received a salary increment in 2022, with 9 per cent of these employees seeing a pay raise of more than 20 per cent.
Half of the respondents also said they will receive a bonus in 2022, with 43 per cent of this half anticipating a bonus payout averaging between 1 to 3 months, excluding a 13th month bonus.
These are among key findings of the 2022 Salary and Bonus Expectations survey by Randstad Singapore, which was conducted online from Feb 7 to 14 and collected responses from 300 employees based in Singapore.
The survey, which was released on Tuesday (Mar 15), aims to highlight how employers are rewarding their employees following a year of economic recovery from the pandemic, the agency said.
Of the respondents who said that they will be receiving a bonus, 1 in 4 respondents believe they will receive a bonus of less than a month, while 12 per cent said they will get a bonus of 7 months or more.
65 per cent of the employees expecting bonuses also said that they are satisfied enough to stay with the company for the next 6 months.
Dass said employers must be willing to share their profits to retain valued employees, amidst “this great resignation or great reshuffling stage of the pandemic”.
“Talent with in-demand skills in this candidate-short market have a strong negotiating power to request higher salaries and will likely look for a new employer if their current boss is unable to meet their expectations,” she said.
She also believes it is critical for employees to adjust work policies and benefits schemes to meet the changing expectations of employees and candidates.
Noting employees’ preference for working away from the office, she said: “Employers that intend to make hybrid work a permanent feature of their workforce culture after the pandemic should also start to roll out policies as soon as they can to retain their workforce.”
The 2022 findings are down from those of the 2019 survey conducted before Covid-19, which saw 83 per cent of 400 Singapore-based professionals anticipating a bonus that year. Of this 83 per cent, 69 per cent of them said they were expecting bonus payouts averaging between 1 to 2 months.
Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/41-of-employees-in-singapore-would-give-up-bigger-bonus-for-remote-working