Below is the email sent to me from my aunty who’s a manager at a large business firm in Singapore. I hope this helps people to have a better understanding of Singapore’s workplace culture:
“I will list down some of the characteristics of Singapore work place as follows;
-Very common to have multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-religion work place especially in bigger companies.
-Generally english speaking although among the chinese workers there is a high usage of mandarin in their communication both on work related and non-work related issues. Malay are used among malays colleague. But official communication are mostly done in english.
-Work place are generally fast similar to hongkong or tokyo.
-Official working hours are 44 hours per week, mostly done in a 5 days week basis for white collar office work. Therefore official work hours generally start between 8-9 am in the am and end 5-6pm in the afternoon. But it is very common for people to leave their work place at least 1-2 hours after the official end of work hours without any kind of compensation or benefit paid by the company for this extra hours spent.
Blue collar manaufacturing work normally work on the 8 hours shift work and they generally get overtime pay for any additional time put in in their work place.
For people in the financial, international trades and IT related sector, its is expected that you might have to put in very long hours outside of your official work hours as and when you job calls for( and this is very common, for example, and investment analyst might have to put in 12-13 hours per days when they are working on projects and this might continue for months if they have continue projects). Compensation for this extra hours work are meal/transports allowance and year end bonus.
-Work place relationship are generally professional in nature. Its not a common practice for co-workers to engage in weekly/regular after office hour socialization (like drinking or dinner type of gathering).
Company paid outing/oversea tour/events etc as part of employees benefits sometimes needs lots of persuasion and supervisor pressure in order to get participation. General to hear people commenting “they prefer company pay them the cash and the days-off for them to plan/organize their own tour either with their own selected colleagues or with their own family members”.
Having said that, people are generally friendly and warm in their work place. Most of the time, they identify themselves with their company and team spirit are generally positive.
-Work place are competitive in nature. semi annual and/or annual Individual assessment are made, job tenure and bonus are determined basis this assessment.
-I would say that workers in generally are well trained and have positive work attitude. Meritocracy is widely practice in work place. Seniority is respected but not a big factors in consideration for promotion.
-Continuous learning is encouraged both by the company and government. Company and government have lots of study cost assistance scheme to help worker defray part or all of their continue education costs.
-Although permanent employment contract is still the majority of employment term. More specific tenure contract( ie 2-3 years tenure and subject to mutual re-negotiation and renewal upon expiry of agreement) employment type of arrangement is being used. As such, job hop is getting more common as both employer and employee are always on the look out to find their best opportunities. Similarly, it is becoming very common for groups of people to move across to competitors in the same industry. You can say a mercenary type of work culture exist in some of the industry especially in the finance and international trading related industry.
-The job market is competitive. Most company are doing away with expatraite terms for their expat employees as it appears there are lots of expat wanted to work in Singapore.
As a result, its is becoming a common sight to see expat live among the normal Singaporean in the government housing estate, going to the same hawker center for meal and wet market for their grocery shopping, taking buses/MRT.”
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I find myself agreeing with many of the points stated in the blog entry. As a former full-time worker slogging out my guts to generate both the company and country’s economy, it meant clocking in hours even way after the official knock off time.
This practice is very prevalent in Asian countries, especially Japan, and Singapore is definitely not an exception. It is a very warped theory that one must work overtime to prove that he/she is a valued asset. Quality, not quantity, no?
I guess this stems from the “kiasu” mentality that Asians adopt. A friend who is working full-time related how her boss questioned her regarding her arriving and leaving on time for work. Apparently, punctuality is not good enough. She should arrive earlier, and leave later. I was appalled when I heard that.
Professionalism means putting in the extra mile when necessary, and definitely not for the sake of proving you’re that extra 5 minutes hardworking than others.
Working Australians face heavier taxation than their Singaporean counterparts but they don’t sit and grumble just because of that. They get out of their offices, out into the world and live a life outside that of their cubicles’. And all these happen even when they have a compulsory burden to support the country’s pensioners.
University study in Singapore, especially for off-shore students like us, usually includes some kind of part-time work as well to help pay off the fees. With such distractions, it gets difficult to concentrate on the assignments that start coming in.
Ultimately, being an off-shore student also means losing out on a ‘real’ university life – of living on campuses and attending lectures and slogging overnight together for that piece of essay.
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What the aunty wrote describes Singapore’s workplace culture in general. I would say that it can also be applied to the Asian’s workplace culture in general.
But in the end, the workplace culture depends on the job and how the one working adapts. As a professional, I would choose a job that enables me to benefit the public to a certain extent. If I can benefit the public or customers, they are happy and I will feel satisfied as well, creating a win-win situation.
Comparing to Australia, Singapore’s expectation on a working person is definitely higher. Based on feedback from my friends who studied/studying in Australia, the wages are higher and the work is less demanding. I believe it is less demanding due to the difference between Singapore and Australia’s population density i.e. less customers or clients to serve over a period.
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REPOST – “-Generally English speaking although among the Chinese workers there is a high usage of mandarin in their communication both on work related and non-work related issues. Malay is used among Malays colleague. But official communication are mostly done in English.”
I think that the author’s perception of Singapore’s workplace culture is highly misleading. Workplaces in Singapore are not like that, yes, official communication is usually done in English but if you have a good command in Mandarin or Malay, I am positive that you would breeze through work for the most part.
With the growing number of expats living in Singapore nowadays, one would think that the workplace would significantly improve in terms of speaking the English language and that the language would be used more often. That I find very difficult to support, let alone agree with. I find myself most of the time, being turned down by big companies solely because of my inability to speak any other language apart from English.
Once, I was asked in an interview if I knew how to speak Mandarin, now… as a person who took Mandarin in Kindergarten and then later Malay in Primary and Malay(B)(Basic Malay) in Secondary school, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to either of the 2 languages, so I respectfully said “NO, I do not speak Mandarin”, the man who was interviewing me rejected me right away and let me just add, his English was atrocious. He told me that if he were to hire me despite my work experience and resume, my inability to speak Mandarin wound be a hindrance to the company. He then went on to hire a Caucasian girl with a brilliant command in Mandarin.
That saddened me and I couldn’t believe that because here we are, in a multi-racial Country that is supposed to be English speaking and being rejected by a fellow Singaporean with really bad English did not feel great at all. Yes, people of the same race would commonly gather together during lunch breaks or after office hours, I would just expect that during office hours every form of communication would be done in English. If we say we are the English speaking country we claim to be, how can a fellow Singaporean reject another under those circumstances?
My perception of Singapore’s workplace culture differs greatly from the author’s and I think that with the growing number of expats coming into Singapore, when my turn comes to work as a professional in the future, despite being a Singaporean, I am going to be at a great disadvantage because of my inability to command a second language in spite of my great conversational skills and ability to speak English.
I think that the workplace here in Singapore is more demanding in terms of working hours and workload compared to that in Australia. Due to their laid back lifestyle, they would definitely get lesser work done.
I also believe that one difficulty I have with university study is managing my time and workload in a country that has a lot of temptation to just be laid back and have fun.
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Name: Leo Shu Yan Student ID:30869943
As a graduating student on the cusp of entering the corporate while in just mere months, this article has awoken me to further understand the generalizations of the working environment in Singapore. In a multi-racial society like Singapore, naturally, the working environment will be made up of a plethora of different races. This is increasingly reflective of the international working environment, where globalization resulted in transnational employment becoming a norm. Such a situation pushes the local workforce to assimilate with foreign talents, giving rise to a dynamic working environment with an international talent pool to tap upon.Meritocracy is also highly regarded in Singapore, with the root of it embedded within us even before entering the workforce. The stringent requirements of education have inculcated in us to strive for higher result. This trait also surfaces when we enter the workforce, with the workforce constantly enriching themselves with training and higher education. Though I have yet to experience Singapore’s working environment, without a doubt, many stories have been told of how individuals have to be on top of their game in their company and to constantly be striving to be the best. Such does fit in with the national culture of always having to be at the forefront of thing, to be the best among the best. This, I feel, is a commendable spirit because the country and economy will always be progressing. However, it is important to note that too much competition can be detrimental to the individual psyche.
Thomas Lee mentioned that company paid incentive trips and certain employee benefits are not as well received as monetary incentives. I beg to differ. This is a situation that will differ between organizations and the individual. This might be a generalization, but I’ve notices a pattern after observing what my family and friends who are in the workforce has commented about incentive trips. Those who enjoy a close-knit relationship with their colleagues and superiors have no qualms about receiving such incentives and even look forward to them. However, those who prefer monetary incentives are often those who view their jobs as a means of livelihood and not to develop relationships with their immediate co-workers. This boils down to the culture within the organizations and the relationships that are encouraged.
I believe that it is literally impossible to generalize Singapore’s working culture as a whole. Rather, it would be more suited to mention the working culture with regards to the organization as each one of them will take shape and change overtime.
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From the experience I have had freelancing with various companies and from academia, the blog discussion on professionalism skims the surface on present and future roles as a professional in Singapore. Although there are some generalities, such as the notion of putting in extra hours and that workplaces are competitive, I feel that certain portions of this blog post reflects that of jobs in the finance and IT sector. The above mentioned fulfill Van Ruler’s framework of professionalism particularly the competition model and personality model. I feel it is befitting that professionals here are expected to put in longer hours than usual as that is one of the qualities that the company or client defines as an exemplary working attitude. However, it feels that majority of people work with drive not because they identify with the company, rather that they are chasing for status and money (also a model in Van Ruler’s framework).
I reckon that the expectations of working professionals in Australia might be more relaxed in a sense, since the standard of living there is not so much a rat race as compared to that of Singapore’s. However, I do feel that there are certain industries that place higher standards on their employees, which makes the amount of effort and expertise expected from the employers similar. An example is drawn from a Singaporean friend whom I know is working in the finance sector in Australia. He is expected to work overtime for 3-4 hours during the economic meltdown, without being prompted.
An undermined difficulty in the aspect of university study is the student’s ability to take the course of studying as a process to enjoy, and glean information from. Instead, the country’s local culture moulds the nation to believe, or feel that obtaining academic qualification is the only way to lead a more comfortable life, or to survive living in a such a competitive environment.
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Reading on Thomas Lee’s blog post, I would agree to most of his aunt’s point of view. Having used to worked as a management trainer, work load just doesn’t stop and most of the time, come during the last hours and the deadline’s usually on the very day, triggering most white collars to often, work overtime.
There’s even a joke attached to them saying on “A part timer will work full time, while a full-timer, over time.”
The Aunty stated that “Generally english speaking although among the chinese workers there is a high usage of mandarin in their communication both on work related and non-work related issues. Malay are used among malays colleague. But official communication are mostly done in english.”
I would slightly agree to the point as most Singaporeans can build rapport fast, one of the method used is to speak the common language. However, from my experience, English is used most of the time regardless. Perhaps, it’s just a different company culture.
“Work place relationship is generally professional in nature. Its not a common practice for co-workers to engage in weekly/regular after office hour socialization (like drinking or dinner type of gathering).”
On my personal views, I strongly disagree to the sentence, having worked for a few companies; there has been a lot of interaction out of office hours. The group of people might vary. For Multi-national companies, people usually gather within their own department, and sometimes allowing other counterparts to join. While for small medium enterprises, packs of them will usually go for movies and such.
I am sure one aspect of this comment look into the age and personality of the workers. Most probably, the co-workers of the younger generation would be more in favor of socializing.
While I’ve only worked with Australians, my experience with them tells that they are more relax while doing work, and they have the slow and easy attitude, even though the deadlines are drawing nearer. The Australian work culture is different as well, even though they may be the managing director, the way they treated employees portray that they are not trying to show superiority or the significant hierarchy differences.
In my opinion, Singaporeans are trying to morph into a more liberal way the Australians are represented. It might be an ideal wish to have it, but looking into Singapore’s current situation, there is still much to learn from before this ideal way of management could be fulfilled. -
Hi MCC307 bloggers
It’s very interesting for me to read these blogs regarding workplace culture and the pressure in Singapore to work late (and to be seen to work late!). Many of my former students keep in touch with me and I hear their stories about their careers in Singapore and the often unrealistic expectations employers have in terms of time and commitment. However, I’m also aware that this doesn’t apply to all organisations and as my ex-students move into other sectors and roles, they are sometimes pleasantly surprised to find that there can in fact be a work-life balance with a stimulating career.
I’ve worked in a range of industries in Australia and the UK where ‘work’ is not confined to 9-5pm. As a self-employed PR consultant, it was impossible to think in terms of a Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm job. My husband is a journalist who gets up at 4am for his morning shift, and in the evening has to watch the news (three or more broadcasts across different stations) and phone contacts and colleagues to discuss topics and potential interviewees for the next morning. I guess my point is that it is hard to generalise about working hours in Australia – certainly my children see both their parents working at various times and weekends outside the ‘normal’ working day. This means that work-life balance is sometimes elusive here too! Sometimes we sacrifice a bit of that to work in professions we find challenging and interesting because job satisfaction is important too.
Western Australia is a ‘boom’ state, even during this financial crisis. Most of the state’s revenue comes from mining and we have a curious phenomen of FIFO workers: fly in fly out workers who might work 2 weeks on a mine site and have one week back at home; others work six weeks straight, and then have two weeks at home. This has had a profound impact socially and many families have become accustomed to this style of working, with one parent absent for extended periods of time.
Even given my comments, I realise the workplace culture in Singapore is very different. Some of the expectations regarding late nights at the office (I see some of you stay at work till midnight or later on occasion) are very high and I can’t help but question how sustainable this is? Surely there must be high burn-out and staff turnover rates? Do some the MNCs or government departments have more realistic expectations in terms of working hours and professional development?
Finally, a report into the Australian PR industry a few years ago found that PR professionals were motivated by 1/ job satisfaction and 2/ colleagues rather than 1/ money and 2/ status. This suggests they work because they want to. I know it doesn’t apply to everyone but I thought it was an interesting outcome. Would you expect a similiar survey in Singapore to have the same results?
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Singapore is a good place to work? Wait till you read my comments!
“Eight hours work per day”? That is fully impossible in my company lifestyle. My company is the slogan of “The Citi Never Sleeps”.
I worked in Hong Kong nine years ago when I just graduated from Lasalle-sia. Hong Kong working style is much more tedious as compared to Singapore. I am with the advertising line back in Hong Kong. At 21 years of age, with an adventurous mind, I ventured out with a group of close friends and set a small production company which only last for only a year. Hong kong advertising industry was far more competitive as we expected. Though the company closed down, we managed to gather a few customers and other media companies referrals and got a job in Hong kong TVB station.
Worked for a two years and came back to Singapore, looking forward for a brighter future. But I never knew Singapore media industry was far more disappointing at that time.Gave up my ambition and pull myself to the financial industry as a credit cards telesales officer.
For the first year,it was a living hell. I got lots of back-stabbing with thorns and daggers all beside me, waiting every moment to attack me from all angles! I have never experience that in the advertising line, as we believed in team spirit in the production line. I am hurt with slashes of wounds all over my body and stressed out over the hours I worked in the Bank. Suffering for three entire years, I survived to become a team leader. Times are even worst. Vice president and team members giving many problems and forcing you to push up the sales volume.
Struggling for nine years, I survived the Banking seas. As a manager now, I see through the whole regional team. But worst to be faced, I am now facing the worst situation of being ‘retrenched’. Waiting for the money is like in the 18 stages of hell, days of waiting a day to leave the Bank and days of colleagues eating your flesh everyday.
Although I am working in a living hell, I have some time in Heaven. That is when the Bank gave you free trips to Hong Kong and Taiwan to meet up internal customers and free internal trainings in Malaysia and Philippines. It was enjoying and I also get to know colleagues from different countries and knowing each country different cultures.
Singapore may be a good place to leave in, but working with ‘typical kiasu Singaporeans’, you will get the pinch and hell out of your life! Everyday with knives behind your back, with any moment waiting to aim to stab you! -
I cannot agree more with the general views of Singapore’s working culture. As what many others have reiterated, it is common to see Singaporean working more than the official 44 hours. This is not only because of the competitive nature of the job or “Kiasu-ism” (afraid to lose) but also perhaps much more now to compete with expatriates in Singapore. I spoke to an expatriate friend of my mine who works with government agencies recently and he told me that he does not understand the state of Singapore’s working culture. He revealed to me that while there are many Singaporean who may have the same qualifications (eg. degrees) or job description as an expat, it seems that the government would always have openings for expats. Not only do pay packages seem better than a local but the views of an expat also holds more weight. Although this may not ring true for all, it makes me wonder whether our working culture has resulted from the lacks assertiveness due to the constant power relations barrier in hierarchical organizations or common misconception such as statements from the aunt that it MUST be “very common for people to leave their work place at least 1-2 hours after the official end of work hours without any kind of compensation or benefit paid by the company for this extra hours spent” that has resulted in this situation that we ‘gracefully’ accept?
Even in a government-related job such as teaching, which many perceive as relatively less stressful due to the fixed hours, I have learnt from my teaching friends that they have to make up for lost time for attending trainings and after school extra-curricular activities for the children at home to finish other work datelines. Therefore, I do believe that having high turnover and burnouts would not differ much whether government or private organization as each has its own workload difficulties.
I also agree with Adeline Yeo who posted on October 5th, 2009 that “majority of people work with drive not because they identify with the company, rather that they are chasing for status and money”. With metropolitan Singapore probably achieving the first 3 stages of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, many Singaporeans are possibly trying to attain a stage 4/5 (esteem/ self-actualization) where they believe that wealth and reputation can bring. As such, with Singaporeans’ general mentality, it is unlikely that Singapore’s PR would be similar to the Australian PR survey. Moreover, status and money may help facilitate as a group goal for Institute of Public Relations Singapore to move PR profession in Singapore away from a technician role, which Singapore PR is largely still in.
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Commenting under the eye of a foreigner, I dont have much to comment on working environment and how Singaporean work in their workplace as my understanding about it is not sufficient. Thus, on the surfaces, I think i would agree with the authors’ comments.
I have a few things to add on that is in Singapore, they prefer young working people, chance to be employed is higher when you are below 35. During the economic crisis in 2008, as after company’s retrenchments, senior white collar who are retrenched, could not find a job outside and they ended up driving taxi. I met an old man in Seven Eleven store, he told me he was very upset because as senior manager, now he was going to drive a taxi.
Author also mentioned about the IT and bank industry in Singapore, it is very competitive because Singapore is only an island state but they have so many local banks as well as international banks, so putting extra hours are necessary as clients and bosses will think that their banks and their banks and their employees are put more effort for those beneficiaries. There are no way to escape from that as it was already a trend and a “culture” in working environment in Singapore. You work more hours, you are more effective and helpful for the company and you- as an employee, you are higher estimated because of that. So, why not to work more? I am thinking of Japan, whether Singapore would become another Japan?
In addition, it may be a very good news for foreigners but Singaporeans that Singapore government is very open to “expat” as author mentioned a bit. Not to talk about the good sides for that decisions. The bad side is Singaporeans, example is my Singaporean’s lecturers, she is feeling that they are traveling in their country while walking on the streets and standing and they ended up like to go oversea to work and to stay back because “everywhere is the same”. As Singapore is now becoming smaller, more competitive, expensive and crowded as government keeps “inviting” foreigners to stay. I reckon that people will not want to stick on to their country when they do not feel strongly about their cultures.
Those are a few things that I realized during my time in Singapore. As a student, anyway, it is still a very good place to live and to study. -
Most of the blog entries, when describing the work culture in Singapore, highlight the long working hours. According to some of the entries, this work ethic is down to “kiasuism”, “striving to achieve nothing but the best”, “scary”, “culture” and several other reasons have also been sighted.
Typically, the entries have been submitted by young students who may not have the historical knowledge of the hardships Singapore went through in the early days of its Independence from Colonialism in the late 1950s. History books tell us that it was a long, hard, struggle to keep nationhood and independence on track and the long hours started way back then.
I think when you start out on the back-foot as a ‘third world country’ with ambitions to be the ‘next big rising dragon of the east’, you have to make sacrifices and put in those additional long hours to make it to the forefront.
Jamie-Lee captured the essence of the notion when she wrote in her blog-post “to be successful in Singapore you are expected to be hard working, motivated and strive to achieve nothing but the best”. Till today, this has been the mantra for the government, the unions, the grass root clubs and the same has been extended to the learning institutions and all businesses. It’s the work ethic and has now become part of the “Singapore culture”.
Singapore is now the most globalised city, and one of the reasons it is so inter-connected with the rest of the world is the 24/7 functioning of certain core services, – the tele-communications and banking services here will otherwise be at a disadvantage if they are not in the same time-zone as the super powers in the Western world. If our workforce shies away from working long hours or shift hours this country will lose its competitive edge.When in school, we are always being told “put in the effort and the hours and you will see the result!” At work you hear the same line if you want to be a high-flier.
Employers like to see staff put in the extra effort – not just to fill in the hours but to ensure the day’s work is done before one leaves for the day; for tomorrow is yet another new day and it brings with it a fresh set of challenges. Besides, not all work is bad and not all those who put in long hours are ‘suffering’ or ‘being exploited’. I have personally encountered colleagues working into the night telling me they prefer to finish their work before leaving for the day or the weekend, so as to not get up in the middle of the night having nightmares and “enjoy the weekend without feeling guilty about unfinished work”…makes sense I think and I do support this ideology. It also shows professionalism on the part of the employees who show responsibility in wanting to complete their share of the work.
But it does not mean that I condone working long hours, it just needs to be done in moderation, and there MUST be a work-life balance. You don’t have to make personal sacrifices on account of work, unless of course you are after that car, the credit card, the condominium, the country club membership and the much needed cash! -
Though I do agree with the general statements cited in the post, I however, believe that the workplace culture of Singapore is slowly evolving into some Western-Asian hybrid. Whether this is a step in a more positive direction or not remains to be seen but there is definitely an ongoing change. Part of this can probably be attributed to the fact that there a larger number of expatriates working in Singapore than ever before. With people coming in from all over the world, you can’t force all of them into a singular mould and say, “Hey, this is how we operate here and it’s up to you to fit in.”
Speaking from personal experience, I have come to realize that people from different cultures will bring with them their own little quirks and peculiarities that may not be particularly Singaporean. I work for an international company with a mix of both local and international colleagues. Some of the little things that differ from the typical Singaporean work-life mentality can seem really trivial. For example, my colleagues from Australia and Canada will always come back from a weekend, say hello to everyone and ask how their weekend was. The Singaporeans would do away with just a cursory hello or good morning. Similarly, whilst the Singaporeans think nothing of putting in an extra 45 minutes to an hour of work everyday, beyond their normal working hours, the Caucasians are usually quite keen on going home on time and sometimes shoo the Singaporeans out the office whilst expounding on the need for a good work-life balance. One of the other small differences I have come to notice is how my colleagues from India are fond of taking tea breaks throughout the day where they make themselves a nice cup of tea and stop to talk for about 15 to 20 minutes with the people around them whilst the Singaporeans keep grinding away at work non-stop or at least they try to do so without being distracted by the colleague who is chatting away next to them.
There are many other examples of how workplace culture in Singapore is changing. With more expatriates working alongside the Singaporeans, the culture, mentality and attitude towards work will continue to evolve. The influence of those from different continents and cultures will impact Singaporeans’ attitude towards work. Perhaps in due time workplaces will become less rigid and robotic with Singaporeans realizing that knowing the people who work around you is equally important as the work that they do.
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I do agree with a lot of your Aunt’s comments on the Singaporean workplace. In a society where everyone wants to be first, it’s difficult to not be that competitive. I have worked in both at a MNC and a local company and the cultures are very different.
During my time doing production work at a MNC, I enjoyed the working environment as everyone was friendly and competition was to a large extent, non-existent (I can’t say there wasn’t any at all!). To top it off, even as a major company handling production and events, everyone managed to go home on time. 6pm and people were heading back to live their own lives. Superiors always offered to pay for junior staff when it came to meals and relationships were easy to form. There was also a good mix of Asians and Caucasians in the company and this provided an excellent opportunity for the different cultures to learn from each other. Communication was always in English and only very rarely were there conversations in Chinese and Malay.
However, when I was working at a local events company, it wasn’t easy at all. Even though the environment was cosy, there was an evident amount of tension and politics going on. Communication was often a mix of Chinese and English and I spent a lot of time in the office – skipping lunch and working till the wee hours of the morning. Also, superiors never offered to pay for junior staff (only once in a while) and everything about money was sensitive. Our pays were deducted for various reasons and we weren’t even notified. When I was sent overseas to manage an event, our boss tagged along and did nothing to contribute at all. Needless to say, this experience was perhaps the most Singaporean and probably, the worst.
While my experience at a Singaporean company may have been bad, there are companies out there who are trying to change and be more multi-national especially with the rise of globalization. People too need to realize that they must change their working habits to suit that of the rest of the world, not just Singapore. The high levels of competition may be good, but yet too much is not going to do anyone any good.
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I would agree with most of the points the author brought up. As i’d worked before in a blue collar industry to a professional industry now, i would say that most of pointers are generally true. But not all industry culture could be generally characterized.
“Its not a common practice for co-workers to engage in weekly/regular after office hour socialization (like drinking or dinner type of gathering).”
I would disagree with the above statement, as it is a little generalized. I would understand that Singaporeans leads a busy life. As such, balancing the different aspects from work, family, friends and other commitments would lead to the above notion. But there could be situations where people who started off as friends and became co-workers in a different department. Therefore, socialization after office hour is just inevitable. Or in another scenario, there could be people who have not much friends other than co-workers. They would still socialize after a hectic day of work as part of their leisure.
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I generally agreed with Thomas on the Singaporean workplace culture which most local and international companies operate. Though Singapore’s predominant language is English, the city-state’s unique multiracial culture enables various races to communicate in their mother tongues – provided it is for personal or off-duty purposes (e.g. tea-break, family outings, etc).
It allows fellow colleagues to communicate their preferred native language, as a sign of enhanced social interaction for certain communication elements (e.g. jokes, gossips, etc) to be fully appreciated. Of course, there are some Singaporean families utilizing English as their main form of interaction within the family, social and career relations network.
Working hours in Singapore are usually instituted from 8 or 9am and ending at 5 or 6pm in the early evening. It is true that most workers spend their time after office hours slogging on projects, assignments and other corporate activities which they are responsible for immediate completion, with or without overtime pay and compensation.
The rationale behind this work mentality is because many companies in Singapore stresses the importance of efficiency and productivity as an order for their survival – due to the city-state’s small and yet competitive business climate.
And the Singaporean government supports these elements by sending workers for training courses to not only enhance their skills and knowledge, but also benefiting their employers and the nation as a whole, which is why the government is so enthusiastic in promoting continuing education training (CET) programmes through work improvement initiatives such as the Singapore Development fund (SDF).
The sponsorship for events and other corporate functions and activities, will have to depend on how companies are able to reap and benefit its profit margins and operating costs – especially in a competitive business market such as Singapore. Relevance is also a consideration factor when approving of such social activities.
These are some of a variety of reasons which employees are finding a hard time in persuading their employers to host such activities. However, simple social events such as celebrating a colleague’s birthday within the premise of his workplace or externally are practiced in some companies as a form of gratitude for his or her contributions towards their employers.
It is agreeable that some workers ‘job-hop’ for better career opportunities after serving their former employers for a considerable time. This is because there was no job loyalty inculcated by the individual, as he or she views their employer as a stepping stone to reach greater heights of professionalism. Work pressures and conflicts are also contributing factors leading to a professional seeking greener pastures.
In essence, career survival is the key element in ensuring the employee maintains and enhance his relevance in today’s tough corporate culture so that not only does he or she benefits in their career, but also for their companies and nation to prosper as a whole.
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I agree with most of the comments brought up by Thomas, such as the competitiveness of the Singapore workplace. For instance, I feel that we are very competitive and this is because of the values that are instilled in us, since we were young. Our parents have always taught us to work hard and excel at whatever we’re doing. The desire to excel is reflected in trying to do well at school and eventually, this is carried through to the workplace. The Singaporean concept of “kiasuism” (or fear of losing out) also makes us want to be competitive.
The workplace in Singapore is indeed fast-paced and we do work much longer hours than our contracted hours. This is due mainly to our generally hardworking attitudes and competitive nature. However this would apply mainly to managerial and executive workers, who often have a backlog of paper work to complete, due to their heavier responsibilities. I used to know a friend (working in auditing), who went home at midnight most days.
Continuous learning is indeed encouraged by both the company and the Singapore government – again, partly because of the ‘kiasuism’ mentality, in this case, a fear of losing out to competitors. For example, other countries in Asia, such as Malaysia, are gradually catching up to Singapore economically, so the government wants to have a well-trained workforce, to beat off these competitors. A skilled population is a very valuable resource.
However, I do not agree that work-place relations are generally professional in nature, in Singapore. For example, I have seen many friendly social gatherings of work colleagues at dinners, at birthdays and having drinks after work. An increasing number of families now do not have meals together, because of the different times in coming home after work, so some may end up eating with their colleagues after work. This trend is probably set to continue, as Singapore races to be an economic world power. People are social animals and if their family members are not available to socialise with, then they would probably turn to their work colleagues – people whom they spend all of their working time with, and whom they know well already.
Are colleagues always warm and friendly? Sometimes, they may appear to be so, but they can also stab you in the back. This could be when they see you getting in the way of promotions – everyone wants to climb the corporate ladder. However, this trait would obviously not be unique to Singapore.
Overall, the blog comments are quite insightful and gives an overall view of work life in Singapore. However, providing some concrete examples of this happening, would be quite useful to the reader, for example, quotes from an actual person would liven up the blog.
The comments are also from one source only, so this may not offer an entirely objective point of view. Maybe an amalgamation of the opinions from three or four sources may make the comments less subjective.
Some of the points could have been elaborated more. For example, the basic workplace characteristics are merely just a list in some cases e.g. “very common to have multi-national, multi-central and multi-religion (religious) workplace, especially in bigger companies.” A bit more elaboration would have painted a more vivid picture for the reader.
Overall though, a good summary of work life in Singapore.
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I find Priscilla’s entry of interest.I do share certain sentiments about professionalism in the workforce in Singapore. However i disagree with a number of the points made.
Firstly although ‘Kiasuism’ is prevalent in the Singaporean culture, i do not think this is what drives people to work harder. Competitiveness in the work environment is common but this is usually driven by fear or greed. Fear,of under performing and being retrenched. Greed of wanting to perform better so as to reap greater rewards.
In a country where the standard of living is rising exponentially, I believe that the underlying factor that motivate workers is predominantly the monetary benefits. The need to earn more money, to afford better things is the reason people work as hard as they do.
I agree that more and more people are staying back later at work just to get their day to day work completed. However i also think that this is dependent on the nature of the person’s job. Some jobs need the added attention and time. One good example would be globalization. Due to globalisation and the creation of the global market place, more business functions are no longer restricted by time or geography. There are businesses in Singapore that require staff to work through the night just so they can conduct business following UK time or US time. I believe people stay back at work because they have to and not because of their work attitude.
That being said, I do agree with Priscilla on how the other blog entries have been insightful. They have given diverse views on professionalism in the workplace. I also agree that quotes would liven the blog , but I dont think they are as important as the points that are discussed. Look forward to more highly interesting comments on the blog.
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I do not think this is a very good article as it is solely based on one’s comment who is working in a big firm.
Its a fallacy in using one comment of the workplace culture in a big firm to describe the entire workplace culture. I feel that the workplace culture varies especially between big firms to medium or small enterprises.
Country of origin of the company also should be considered as well. Comparing the culture of french organisations versus german organisations. The culture in french organisations usually is more creative or fun as compared to the more strict or “dull” working culture in the germans.
I dont see why there is a need for the blogger to say that its not uncommon to see expats taking the bus/mrt or eating in hawker centres. There can be several reasons as to why they take the train/mrt or eat in hawker centres. Firstly, they too might have family to support and theres a need to save money and spend less. Secondly, it could be more convenient in taking the bus/mrt as compared to buying a car. The cost of having a car is high due to the cost of fuel and as well as passing those ERP gantries
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I agree with Cedric’s view to some extent about conflating big firm culture with that of small enterprises. Especially in the case of hours put in, most non-office jobs do not come with the expectation of working beyond the required time on a regular basis.
However, the author is still right in many areas, especially in the cash oriented mindset of Singaporeans. Perks and company activities are not as appreciated as receiving a raise or bonus. Workers gathering together after work is usually done on a friendship basis, rather than having the entire office staff go somewhere at once.
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This has been so helpful and it has me curious. Would any of you kindly please comment on my question? I am from the US and have been asked to provide guidance on Work Life Balance to a Singapore company that is made up of many different nationalities. I know what works in the US: positive input, companies supporting some type of outings to encourage socialization, reward structures for goals being met, group conversations aimed at finding solutions, teaching people how to step back and not take things personally.
Would I be scoffed at for recommending those things? Is there any way that a company in S’pore would be willing to shift their culture and encourage people to also have a life outside work? So much research shows that human beings, no matter the culture, lose their effectiveness after about 45-50 hours at work. Errors increase, proficiencies decrease, less work is actually accomplished in the overtime hours. This is the research that led to the philosophy of the 40 hour workweek in the US.
I worry sometimes that something a Japanese professional said to me once may be true: he said, “We bring in Americans to tell us how they do things so we can do the opposite.”
What am I getting into here?
thanks
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