It was improbable, according to professor Jean Yeung from the medical school at NUS, that Singapore may significantly improve its leave limit.
” But at least Singapore may begin by mandating the 4- year paternity leave without having companies ‘ approval”, said Prof Yeung,  , who is also the producer of cultural sciences at A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that government-paid paternity leave may be increased from two months to four months starting in 2024 at Budget 2023.  ,
Employers are also required to take the extra two weeks of abandon for fathers of Singaporean children born at the beginning of 2024. It will eventually be necessary, though the state has not said when.  ,
According to Prof. Yeung, mandating the extra two months will reduce an “extra level” where fathers must get approval from companies, which in turn deters them from requesting and accepting it.  ,
” USE IT OR LOSE IT”
In some East Asian nations, sexist social norms at work and at home may cause a decline in the take-up level of paternity leave.
Plans that promote both families taking the left, like what Sweden has rolled out, properly handle this, said Dr Vignehsa.  ,
In Sweden, each family is entitled to 240 days of paid parental left. These times are exclusive to each parent and cannot be transferred.  ,
” Effectively, this is a’ use it or lose it’ scheme, which Sweden has used to store social norms and raise the percentage of parents utilising paternity left”, said Dr Vignehsa.  ,
The Nordic countries’ more comprehensive and gender-equal parental leave policies have not been sufficient to maintain increases in their birth rates, but research has shown that fathers who take paternity leave form closer bonds with their children, according to the IPS senior research fellow.  ,
In contrast to both Japan and South Korea, which has a “less gendered workplace culture,” she continued, making it simpler for men to take long vacations if they were available.
Dr. Vignehsa suggested creating a market for contract or parental leave positions that employers could use to fill temporarily unfilled positions.
” Although some industries, such as the legal profession, do have these norms, it is not widespread. And there are numerous reports of people having to do some work while on parental leave or to catch up on their own when they return.