Horrible bosses? 1 in 3 Singaporeans are not satisfied with work-life balance due to inflexible managers

For 73%, a work-life balance means no work on weekends, whilst for 69%, it meant being able to leave work on time everyday.

A third or 35% of Singaporeans are not satisfied with their work-life balance, citing inflexible managers and working policies as the biggest barriers, according to a study by recruitment platform Monster.com.

The study, which surveyed surveyed more than 1,000 respondents across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, found that to 73% of Singaporeans, a work-life balance meant not having to work on weekends, whilst for 69% it meant having the ability to leave work on time every day.

Also read: Over half of Singapore's workforce unsatisfied with their current job: report

“For others, work-life balance means having a choice to work remotely or from home (56%), or choosing their own flexible hours to suit their needs (54%),” the firm said in a statement. But despite this varied understanding and expectations of work-life balance, 39% of Singaporeans said their current employer did not have any official policy in relation to flexible hours.

When asked about the biggest barriers to achieving work-life balance, 40% of respondents attributed it to uncooperative and over competitive colleagues, whilst 42% said it is due to the negative attitude of their supervisors. “Only 23% said their managers are supportive and understand staff have life beyond work, which is significantly lower than Malaysia (31%) and the Philippines (44%),” Monster.com added.

Meanwhile, the study found that of those surveyed, 86% of Singaporeans believed that a good work-life balance could enhance productivity and positively impact their respective businesses.

“Although remuneration remains a main driver of happiness, poor work culture is the key reason for high turnover and disengagement,” Abhijeet Mukherjee, CEO for Monster.com APAC & Gulf, said in a statement. “There are numerous flexible working policies businesses can take advantage of to ensure a balance inside and outside the office and the key is internally communicating these and ensuring expectations are aligned. Without a strong strategy for this, employees can feel unsupported by the business, even if work-life balance policies are technically in place.”