We can all heave a sigh of relief now that Singapore has moved to Dorscon (Disease Outbreak Response System Condition) green! This recent move comes less than a year after the Dorscon alert was lowered from orange to yellow on 26 April 2022. Despite increased travel over the year-end period, the Northern Hemisphere winter season and China’s shift from a zero-COVID policy, the pandemic situation has remained stable. Thus, the Singapore government now seeks to establish an endemic new normal.

Easing of Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions

With Covid-19 posing minimal disruption to the local population and healthcare capacity, all the remaining restrictions have been lifted from 13 February 2023 onwards. The public are no longer mandated to wear masks on public transport as well as in certain healthcare and residential care settings.

Furthermore, Protocols 1-2-3—which guided individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 on their course of action—have been stood down. The same goes for other Safe Management Measures such as group size limits and work from home. Border measures are likewise lifted as non-fully vaccinated travellers entering Singapore are not required to show proof of a negative Pre-Departure Test.

Will Hybrid Work be a Feature of the New Normal?

Even as we rejoice over the fact that Singapore has exited the acute phase of the pandemic, let us not forget all the valuable lessons we learnt. We have clearly seen how it is possible for a significant proportion of the workforce to work remotely. Not only did business continue as usual, but some companies also saw a marked increase in employee productivity.

While the Singapore government is hesitant to enact legislation, it strongly encourages companies to maintain flexible work arrangements as a permanent feature of the workplace. The Public Service in particular has taken the lead to champion hybrid work, allowing eligible public service employees to work from home for an average of two days per week.

How Does Hybrid Work Benefit Your Company?

Your company can enjoy lower overhead expenses if it continues to adopt the hybrid work model. With fewer employees working in the office on any given day, you can downsize your office space—which in turn reduces your rental, utility and maintenance costs. You can even consider leasing coworking or shared office spaces instead. This translates to huge cost savings, especially since commercial real estate is exorbitantly priced in land-scarce Singapore.

Moreover, embracing hybrid work can improve the quality of your workforce. No longer bound by geographical limitations, your company will have access to a much wider talent pool. You can then attract and hire the best candidates from anywhere across the globe to meet your manpower needs.

Besides increasing your exposure to top talent, your company will be able to improve employee retention. When your employees have the flexibility to work from home several days a week, they can better integrate their work with their personal lives. With increased autonomy over how they perform their role, your employees will experience higher job satisfaction—and thus are less likely to leave.

Apart from reduced employee turnover rates, your company’s productivity will rise. This is a result of measuring the performance of your employees via key performance indicators (KPIs) and project outcomes. Simply appearing in the office—and clocking in the hours—is not good enough anymore; your employees’ contributions will be evaluated more transparently.

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