Nine years ago, Jonathan Ng, who is on the dementia range and has an intellectual disability, quit his job in sales to take care of his five-year-old child.
He relied on the Home Caregiving Grant and the Agency for Integrated Care for centuries to provide for his house. The total came up to under S$ 2, 000 ( US$ 1, 500 ) a month.
Mr. Ng, who is now in his first 50s, just started teaching two courses at a private college to supplement his money, which he can get up to S$ 70 per month.
His career depends on being able to take his then 14-year-old child to work with him, where she discreetly attends his lessons.
Mr. Ng said to CNA during a rare break during his workday while his daughter was practicing dance.” If I cannot bring ( her ), then I cannot work.”
However, this arrangement was only possible because his officer had a special needs child, had an opening for the position in a peer aid chat group, and was prepared to take care of his care needs right away.
Caregivers like Mr. Ng, mothers, and seniors are one of the target groups of a recent effort to normalize flexible job arrangements so that more of these people can visit or remain on Singapore’s labor force.
In 2023, there were 89, 500 visitors not working mainly due to caregiving obligations, or about 8 per share of citizens outside the labour force. The majority – 86.3 per cent – of them were feminine, according to the Manpower Ministry’s labour force study.
Starting in December, all employers in Singapore must have a procedure in place for workers to ask flexible work arrangements, such as task sharing and tilted hours. If a request is rejected, employers may take it seriously and provide a reasonable business justification.
Caregivers who spoke to CNA expressed confidence in the effectiveness of these modifications, but they were skeptical that they could be put into practice. The rules, which apply to existing staff, were also not enough to address the concerns of those looking for jobs, caretakers said.
When asked about the new rules, Mr. Ng said they would not enhance his job leads because they would only do what their firms ‘ business and the job role is support.
“( A ) company will focus on their own profitability”, he said. ” Some employers may think about ( flexible work arrangements ) more, but ultimately, I feel it’s the nature of the company, the nature of the job”.