67% Of Singapore Staff Prefer To Work From Home

ASIA PACIFIC – About 50 percent of workers surveyed by insurance provider Cigna in Hong Kong prefer to work from home (WFH) after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. In comparison, 67 percent of the respondents in Singapore want to do so, reported Insurance Business Magazine on Wednesday (20 October, SGT).

On average, the “2021 Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey: The State of Work” found out that 51 percent of employees in Asia Pacific prefer to telecommute even after the global health crisis has been surmounted.

Globally, 55 percent of the respondents want to be able to work remotely, either part-time full-time or. Notably, the insurance provider surveyed more than 18,000 people across 21 markets around the world.

In Asia Pacific, the respondents said the main benefits of WFH are having more time with friends and family, with 26 percent of those polled saying so. This is followed by better work-life balance (31 percent) and less time spent on commuting to work (45 percent).

However, working from home also has its disadvantages. For workers in the region the main downsides are fewer opportunities to socialize with co-workers (33 percent), weaker teamwork with colleagues (33 percent), and less effective communication compared to face-to-face (35 percent).

Another downside discovered is that many staff had to work longer hours when telecommuting, and this was experienced by 37 percent of the surveyed staff in Asia Pacific.

The top 3 reasons for working longer hours in the region were distractions at home like TV and home-schooling children (26 percent), absence of routine, such as no office time off or lunch time (32 percent), and not having to commute to work every day (32 percent).