New Ways of Work
Introduction
Our workplace and the way we work are changing in many ways. Several emerging trends contribute to the changes of how and where we work: with technology advancements, people are more connected and information can now be accessible anywhere; and expectations of the workforce are changing with the shift in demographics.
In recent decades, the need to travel to office to work and the practice of working to a set of common "office hours", have created some impacts to our lives. Majority of the workforce commute daily to offices away from residential areas. Some require additional travelling for childcare and increasingly, eldercare arrangements. And there are others who have to make the difficult decision to leave the workforce when work options cannot allow them to fulfil their family commitments.
At the same time, companies face challenges in staff attraction and retention as traditional labour pools tighten with an aging population. They must also manage business costs while facing increased global competition, yet still allocate sizeable budgets for increasing real-estate costs and combat a never-ending space crunch to accommodate more staff to grow their business. They may also take in younger workers from the generation of digital natives who prefer more flexible working arrangements.
Singapore is poised on the brink of grasping a new way of working, a brink enabled by the enhanced infocomm infrastructure IDA has helped build such as the
Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN)
,
Wireless@SG
, and
Cloud Computing
. With these, it opens up new possibilities for companies and their employees to enjoy New Ways of Work (NWoW). Companies can save on office costs while employees can opt for more flexible work arrangements.
Creating the communications infrastructure to enable new ways of work is a team effort between many agencies, including IDA, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Employer Alliance, National Library Board, National Trades Union Congress - Women's Development Secretariat, and the Singapore National Employers Federation. There are a wide range of new opportunities for businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, to transform themselves through new uses of information technology and communications.
To learn about New Ways of Work, click
here
.
Information on IDA's initiatives for New Ways of Work:
Other Related Links: