SME workers demand support in achieving 2021 goals

The most requested were mental health and financial support.

Majority (79%) of Singaporean workers said they needed more support from employers in achieving their 2021 career goals, particularly in terms of mental health (36%) and financial (33%) support, revealed a report by HR solutions provider Employment Hero.

According to the 2021 Employment & Recruitment Trends for Singapore SMEs report, employees who didn’t feel the types of support mentioned could be swayed to switch jobs next year. “The majority (62%) of employees surveyed identified career growth as the top motivator that will lead them to switch jobs—a sentiment that ranked highest (71%) amongst the millennials (25-34 year olds).”

Thirty-eight percent of employees expressed having an “enjoyable” position as the overall consideration when switching jobs.

For entry-level talents, not having a salary increment (30%), better working conditions, (62%), and flexible working arrangements (62%) were identified as motivators for switching jobs.

Concurrently, the report also showed data on how employees felt about changes that could arise next year due to remote working and digitalisation trends. A majority (69%) expressed preparedness for the changes, but on a more demographic-specific level, entry-level talents were more unsure or unprepared (24%) as compared to the overall number of respondents who felt they were unsure (20%) or not ready (10%).

As flexible working arrangements gained more traction, 48% of respondents expressed demand for additional support from employers to sustain flexible working arrangements in 2021, whilst 41% wanted more financial support to meet the rising costs of living.

Millennials believed they would be allowed to have flexible working arrangements (38%) or to resume working remotely (36%) next year, though they also expressed the sentiment that would likely have to work additional hours with no extra pay (42%).

The report was based on a survey of more than 500 Singaporean small and medium-sized enterprise employees, conducted in November 2020.