Only 2 in 5 companies are open to 'work-life arrangements'

They tolerate part-time working and unexpected time-offs.

According to a recent survey by Ministry of Manpower, with an aging population and tightening of foreign worker inflows, work-life arrangements can help employers expand their recruitment pool to include people who are unable to work traditional office hours due to family or personal commitments.

In 2012, four in ten (41%) establishments offered at least one form of work-life arrangement (excluding unplanned time-off and informal/ad-hoc tele-working) to their employees, up from 38% in 2011.

Part-time working was the most common work-life arrangement offered by a third (33%) of establishments. At a distant second was flexitime (8.2%), followed by staggered hours (7.5%) and tele-working (formal) (4.0%).

In general, private establishments in the services sector (51%) were more likely to offer at least one type of work-life arrangement (excluding unplanned time-off and informal/ad-hoc tele-working) than those in manufacturing (29%) and construction (24%).