Table of contents
- Introduction
- Relationship between FWA and happiness
- Brief outline of Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests
- Advantages of FWA
Introduction
The concept of flexible work arrangements (FWA) has been gaining traction in workplaces since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The landscape of many organisations is evolving because employees are no longer hard-wired to go into the physical office 5 days a week.
Communication is extremely important in the FWA concept. Office laptops, VPN, cloud office suites, Teams messaging or anything equivalent, Outlook, digital document management and any other devices and apps appropriate for each work requirement must be set up to ensure the smooth facilitation of FWA.
Employers are encouraged to be open to FWA in all forms to best meet their unique business and workers’ needs. With FWA becoming more prevalent globally, the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests will be implemented in Singapore from 1 December 2024.
Relationship between FWA and happiness
Before discussing the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests, let us dive into the relationship between FWA and happiness in countries that have implemented FWA.
For the seventh time in a row, Finland has emerged as the happiest country in the World Happiness Report’s annual rankings, as reported by CNBC on 20 March 2024. According to an article on the Worldwide Work-Life Balance Index 2023 in Forbes Advisor dated 2 March 2023, many companies in Helsinki (the capital of Finland) offer FWA. This has contributed to Helsinki achieving the second spot among the best cities to live and work in, with many benefits that promote a healthy work-life balance. Such factors have contributed to Finland’s ranking as number one in the World Happiness Report.
Forbes Advisor ranked Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark) as the world’s best city for work-life balance, with its strong emphasis on sustainability and high quality of life. Denmark obtained the second ranking in the World Happiness Report.
Meanwhile, Sweden attained third place among the world’s best cities to offer work-life balance. Employers regularly offer FWA, with almost half (46%) of jobs found to be advertising hybrid or remote working, according to Forbes Advisor. Sweden is ranked fourth in the World Happiness Report.
The emphasis on work-life balance in Denmark, Finland and Sweden played a major role in the rankings of these 3 countries among the top 5 happiest countries in the world.
Brief outline of Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests
The guidelines only cover formal requests for FWA, which are long-term arrangements that require planning to ensure business continuity. The guidelines require all employers to have a formal process in place for workers to request FWA. Employers and employees are encouraged to discuss FWA requests in an open and constructive manner and come to a mutual agreement on how best to meet both organisational and employee needs.
Employers should consider employees’ FWA requests appropriately in accordance with the principles of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. When assessing an employee’s FWA request, an employer should focus on factors related to the employee’s job, as well as how the requested FWA may affect the business or the employee’s performance of the job.
Employers must give their written decision within 2 months of receiving a formal FWA request. If the request is rejected, employers must provide the reason(s) in writing. Employers have the prerogative to reject employees’ FWA requests, but this should be based on reasonable business grounds, eg a significant increase in costs or an adverse effect on productivity and output. Employers are encouraged to discuss alternatives with the relevant employees if the FWA request is rejected.
The guidelines cover 3 types of FWA:
- “Flexi-place” arrangements: Where employees can work from locations outside the office. This includes telecommuting and working from home.
- “Flexi-time” arrangements: Where employees can work at different times with no change to total work hours and workload. This includes staggered hours, flexible shifts and a compressed work schedule.
- “Flexi-load” arrangements: Where employees can take on different workloads with commensurate remuneration. This includes job-sharing and part-time work.
If the employer has stipulated a specific format/template and required information for making a formal FWA request, the employee must abide by this. If there are no stipulations, the employee can make a formal request in writing that includes:
- the date of the request
- the requested FWA, including its expected frequency and duration
- the reason for the request, and
- if applicable, the start and end date of the arrangement.
Advantages of FWA
The following are common reasons in favour of FWA:
- improve work-life balance by providing employees with the freedom to work remotely, which gives them more control
- improve productivity and promote positive workplace culture if employees are happy with their work-life balance
- promote a family-friendly workplace culture. For example, FWA are useful for parents who would like to pick up their children from school at a certain time and continue to work from home. They are also beneficial for employees who need to take care of elderly parents at home
- reduce absenteeism
- allow employees to work in a space comfortable for them
- enable a work environment that suits every individual’s unique style and personality. For example, a silent workspace is preferred for work with tight deadlines or that requires extensive reading and understanding
- promote talent attraction and retention
- enable employers to tap into a larger pool of manpower, such as caregivers and seniors who might otherwise not be able to remain in or join the workforce
- allow personal passions outside of work to be valued, for example cultivating a new hobby or flexible time to go to the gym. This promotes employees’ physical, emotional and mental health
- save overhead costs, including electricity, water, stationery supplies, printing costs and pantry supplies such as tea and coffee
- save travelling costs, parking costs and travelling time
- promote a green environment to reduce global warming with reduced pollution.
This new workplace perspective grants employees the autonomy to choose when, where and how to work without compromising the quality of work provided. By adopting FWA, companies can deal with the demands of employees who expect mobile workplace solutions to be the current norm. However, the concept of FWA is not applicable in some sectors such as transportation, hospitality, etc.
Finally, trust must be maintained between employers and employees through regular and open communication to ensure the successful implementation of FWA.
