\n<\/p>\n
When Mr Tan\u2019s mother suffered a stroke in 2021, he quit his job as a finance executive to look after her for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
After finding a maid to take over her care, Mr Tan worked as a security officer for a while before reprising a full-time role similar to his previous job.<\/p>\n
But when it came to having a child, he and his wife, now 41, never quite picked up from where they left off.<\/p>\n
Despite the maid\u2019s help, caregiving still made a dent in the time, energy and finances they had available to start a family. The expenses for Mr Tan\u2019s mother amounted to about S$4,000 a month before social assistance.<\/p>\n
Mr Tan\u2019s mother died in 2024. He and his wife, who is still a caregiver for her own mother, have not yet resumed their plans for a family.<\/p>\n
Before resigning in 2021, Mr Tan tried asking his employer for flexible work arrangements so he could put a caregiving system in place for his mother.<\/p>\n
He said the company, a large foreign firm, did not directly respond to his request but gave \u201ca feeling that this is a no\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to make things difficult, so the best option is to just quit first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Caregivers \u2013 along with mothers and seniors \u2013 are among the targets of a push to normalise flexible work arrangements so more of them can join or remain in the workforce.<\/p>\n
Since December 2024, all employers have been required to properly consider employees\u2019 requests for flexible work arrangements.<\/p>\n
Around seven in 10 firms offer such arrangements. This has supported Singapore\u2019s labour force participation rate, MOM said in a recent update.<\/p>\n
The ministry cited the falling share of caregivers aged 25 to 64 who were not working or looking for work \u2013 from 28.2 per cent in 2019, to 17.2 per cent in 2025.<\/p>\n
It also pointed to women\u2019s rising labour force participation rate, which hit 80.5 per cent in 2025. The corresponding rate for men was 91.8 per cent.<\/p>\n
But MOM also said less than half of employees who needed \u201cflexi-load\u201d arrangements, which include part-time work, received them in 2024.<\/p>\n
Employees who needed flexi-time and flexi-place arrangements \u2013 like staggered work hours or remote work \u2013 fared better, with 70 per cent of them getting such provisions.<\/p>\n
MOM has said it is looking at how to enhance the Part-Time Re-employment Grant for seniors, to help employers provide more \u201cflexi-load\u201d jobs that could benefit caregivers too.<\/p>\n
It has rejected suggestions to mandate flexible work arrangements, saying this would stifle business operations and competitiveness, and hurt employment opportunities in the long run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n