On April 5, 2021, Joshua Yim, CEO, and Wills Heng, Assistant Director, of Achieve Group were interviewed by Channel News Asia about the return of up to 75% of the staff to the office and the staff’s views about the arrangement.

In a survey carried out by Achieve Group, it was found that two-thirds of employers and employees surveyed welcome the 75% staff return to the office. Below is the Media Release published on April 6, 2021.

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On March 24, 2021, the government announced that up to 75% of staff can return to the workplace at any one time from April 5, and split-team arrangements are no longer mandatory.

In anticipation of the new work arrangements that companies will be putting in place from April 5, Achieve Group approached a number of our clients and posed two questions. One: is your staff excited to return to the office under the latest 75% staff return arrangement, and two: is the management pleased with this new arrangement.

On aggregating the results collected, our contained survey revealed that two-thirds of the employers are pleased with the latest arrangement, and two-thirds of staff members of their respective companies are excited to return to the office as well.

These survey results presented a surprise departure from the sentiment on the ground where many workers have expressed liking the benefits of having a mix of working from home and from office, and the flexibility of working remotely.

On casting our survey to our team of recruitment consultants, we uncovered a common refrain: employees welcome the return to the office as the office environment is vital in maintaining esprit de corps within work teams.

Secondly, many employees have expressed experiencing Zoom fatigue with the many months of remote working, and they are looking forward to greater face-to-face interaction. Thirdly, and just as importantly, while they appreciate the benefits of working from home, they find that working remotely has invaded their personal space and they much prefer a defined work environment within the office.

While these findings certainly bode well for the new work arrangements companies may put in place with up to 75% of their staff returning to the office, employers need to recognise that there are also many employees who much prefer working from home after having settled into a routine where they have greater control of their time.

Employers also need to recognise that there are employees who are able to work effectively, and perhaps more productively, without the need to commute to the office; and these employees play equally important roles as those who prefer to return to the office.

Joshua Yim, CEO of Achieve Group, remarked, “There are no easy answers in defining the ideal work arrangement. Employers will need to take a back-step and consider which is most important for the organisation: facilitating staff in having the desired balanced lifestyle while producing effective work; versus having a work arrangement that enables the organisation to achieve its business objectives and fulfill its mission through its people.”

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For further information on this topic, please contact Magdalene Ho at Magdalene.Ho@achievegroup.asia