SOME 95 per cent of employers in Singapore will not implement a four-day work week in their organisations, based on a poll conducted by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).
The poll, which ran from Sep 30 to Oct 7, received responses from 330 employers to gauge their openness to adopting a four-day work week.
In its survey, SNEF defined a four-day work week as a schedule where employees work four days a week totalling up to 36 hours, instead of the usual five days for up to 44 hours, while still receiving the same compensation as if they are working for five days.
Among those opposed, 260 employers (79 per cent) said they will not implement a four-day work week, while the remaining 16 per cent said they are not implementing it, but will consider the option.
On Friday (Nov 1), SNEF noted in a statement that employers are hesitant to implement a four-day work week as their business operations are required to run round the clock.
Other reasons included being unable to increase productivity to compensate for the reduction in manpower, as well as incurring higher costs.
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Sim Gim Guan, executive director at SNEF, said: “These results reflect the realities many employers face in today’s tight labour market and competitive business environment.”
Of all the respondents, only 18 per cent said they would implement a four-day work week. Their reasons to do so included wanting to improve their employees’ well-being, among others.
Sim added: “While a small proportion of employers are in favour of implementing a four-day work week in their organisation… the operational feasibility and economic implications make it a challenging proposition to meet their business needs.”
Within the manufacturing sector, 84 per cent of all the respondents indicated that they will not implement a four-day work week. The remaining 16 per cent will not implement it, but they will consider the option.
In the non-manufacturing segment, only 7 per cent of the 330 respondents said they will implement it. The rest said they will not implement it, with some indicating that they will consider it.
