\n<\/p>\n
All employees, not just parents, stand to benefit from improved workplace culture and norms that help them to balance work and personal responsibilities, including caregiving needs, Ms Indranee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government is working with employers, tripartite partners and other stakeholders to foster work-life-friendly practices, she added. It will also study a suggestion from MP Cassandra Lee\u2019s (PAP-West Coast-Jurong West) to publish criteria that employers must meet to be accredited for the “Made for Families” mark.<\/p>\n
On take-up rates for childcare leave, Ms Indranee said the government tracks these based on employer claims, with the data published annually in the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Family Trends Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also identify barriers companies face in facilitating leave-taking to develop practical solutions that are tailored to the needs of different sectors and firms to address these,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Non-Constituency MP Andre Low from the Workers’ Party asked how the government would prevent Singapore citizen parents from being disadvantaged in hiring and career progression, and what practical support could be given to smaller companies so operational concerns do not discourage parents from taking leave.<\/p>\n
Ms Indranee said “a big part” of changing workplace norms means changing mindsets. “The signal that we’re sending to all employers is that the workplace of today has changed. We cannot work on the same paradigm and model as we have for the last 10 and 20 years,” she said.<\/p>\n
As the population ages, employees will need time off to care for elderly parents, meaning workplaces must become more flexible, she added. The workgroup is looking at how to build capability and upskill companies to bring employers, human resources managers and middle management on board.<\/p>\n
On backfilling, she said the government has eased the financial burden by paying for parental-related leave, but a longer-term solution requires working with tripartite partners on sustainable arrangements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCompanies should not do as they are doing today, where it’s like the moment somebody is taken out, you’re struggling to fill the gap. Companies should be planning on the assumption that there will, at any given time, be a gap,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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