Why not, mom? 1 in 2 Singaporean parents withholding valuable tips that could boost kids' careers

Parents’ insights could help young workers up the corporate ladder.

Most Singaporean workers have strong ties to their families, but a survey by LinkedIn reveals that majority of parents in the country are hesitating to share valuable professional knowledge that could help children in their careers.

The survey showed that 53% of parents are refusing to share career tips because of perceived changes in working environment and lack of understanding of their children’s professions.

Even though they think they have valuable skills to impart, 38% feel that their children do not need their insights, while 34% fear that the working world has changed and their advice is no longer valid.

Conversely, 59% of workers believe that they could benefit professionally from their parents’ knowledge and skills.

“In particular, soft skills like time management and managing professional relationships are transferable across industries and time, and are just as important as job-specific ones. Parents shouldn’t let concerns about not understanding today’s working world or their children’s jobs hold them back,” noted Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, Asia Pacific & Japan at LinkedIn.

Here’s more form the report:
These two key findings point to a gap that, if filled, could help workers in Singapore become more productive and successful in their careers.

The top skills parents in Singapore feel they can teach their children include help with time management (46 percent), interpersonal skills (43 percent), problem solving (41 percent), integrity, and perseverance (both 39 percent).

In perhaps a reflection of Singapore’s busy working culture, parents in Singapore were significantly more likely than the global average of 37 percent to report that they could share time management skills.