51% of employers want to bring back full-time in-person work

Employees, however, want a remote or hybrid work setup.

More than half (51%) of employers in Singapore are planning to bring back full-time in-person work, but most employees are against it, a study by Microsoft has found.

Based on its latest Work Trend Index, 53% of workers in Singapore are considering switching jobs that offer a remote or hybrid work setup.

When asked why they do not want to push for remote or hybrid work, 49% of leaders cited relationship-building as their greatest challenge.

Microsoft, however, said companies cannot "rely solely on the office as they rebuild social capital."

READ MORE: Reasons why firms should consider hybrid working scheme

The difference in expectations between employees and employers had led 78% of managers to feel like they do not have the power to drive change in their team, whilst 60% said that leadership at their company is out of touch with employee expectations.

"Today, we are not the same people who went home to work in early 2020. Hence, leaders must embrace these new expectations with the right tools and reciprocal policies in place, so they can set their people and their business up for long-term success, as they build a resilient, digitally inclusive economy," Lee Hui Li, managing director of Microsoft Singapore, said.

READ MORE: How firms can brace for the hybrid work