Singaporeans feel divorced from jobs as 62% call work pointless

Majority want a job that separates personal and work lives.

Singaporeans are increasingly disengaged about their career, with many reducing works down to “just a job” despite 78% of workers taking pride in the companies they work for, McCann Worldgroup’s survey revealed.

The survey, which polled 2,035 Singaporean workers, found that over 6 in 10 (62%) respondents agree that their job can feel pointless at times. Three in four (3 in 4) or 75% believe tbat if their jobs were to disappear tomorrow, they don’t think the world would notice.

Ovver half (55%) often daydreaming about quitting, according to the survey.

Singaporean workers said that they do not want their jobs to be their identity and are seeking better work-life balance.

About 7 in 10 participants (73%) said they want a job that lets them separate their personal and work lives, a contrast to the 27% who believe their job is critical to who they are.

Purpose

Having a purpose that Singaporean workers can connect to is one way that companies can make them feel valued.

"[Our research shows] a perception/reality gap - purpose 
matters to employees, but only half see it mirrored in their workplace reality," a separate report by Deloitte Insights stated.

This gap between the company and personal purpose is causing many workers to question their value, McCann Worldgroup said.

As purpose erodes, workplace connection is becoming less of a priority, it added.

With this lack of connection, McCann Worldgroup said many are less likely to bring their ‘true’ selves to work, with 74% of respondents saying they put on a different persona to fit in at work.

In Singapore, almost 8 in 10 (78%) of respondents prefer virtual work interactions, especially to avoid “unwanted interactions” that interfere with personal time.

Workers used words like fighter (14%), lone wolf, and machine (12% each) to describe themselves.