Singaporeans believe getting the jab will help them get jobs: survey

Approximately 62% of Singaporeans believe that getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will lead to more employment opportunities.

More than three in five Singaporeans, or 62%, say that they will have more job opportunities when they become fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to Randstad’s latest Workmonitor survey, this is higher than the 49% recorded in Hong Kong SAR.

“The vaccination rollout programme in Singapore has clearly injected a new level of confidence and assurance in our workforce. This sentiment is in line with the improving business confidence that we’ve observed since the fourth quarter of 2020, where more companies started to hire new headcounts. As economic prospects become more optimistic, we can expect the uptick in hiring activities to reach pre-COVID levels in Singapore soon,” said Randstad Malaysia and Singapore Managing Director Jaya Dass in a press statement.

Singapore, however, logs the lowest number of respondents who are ready to head back to the office once it’s possible to do so, at 70%, compared to the 92% recorded in Mainland China and the 85% for both Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Randstad noted that this could be due to health and safety reasons, as 67% of Singaporeans preferred to continue working from home until the majority of the population has been fully inoculated.

Additionally, 61% of the respondents said they would feel unsafe in the office until others have been vaccinated.

“The pandemic has irrevocably changed their expectations of work. More employees now prefer greater work autonomy and flexibility to choose their work schedule and location. It should not come as a surprise to employers that some workers will expect remote work to continue even after the pandemic and are willing to switch employers if they are not given the option to exercise their work flexibility,” Dass said.