SINGAPORE: A policy template to help firms set clearer boundaries for after-hours work communication was among the resources that were launched on Friday (Sep 24) by a group aiming to improve work-life harmony in Singapore.
Set up in February this year, the industry-led coalition – known as an Alliance for Action – involved stakeholders such as employers, employees and Human Resources (HR) practitioners.
Several other alliances, convened by the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST), have been launched since last year to tackle various socio-economic issues resulting from COVID-19.
One such concern was about the rise in remote working and a subsequent blurring of work and life.
CLEARER BOUNDARIES ON AFTER-HOURS COMMUNICATION
To address this, the two-page template will help firms establish policies that set clearer boundaries on after-hours work communication.
For instance, it acknowledges that certain business-critical or time-sensitive situations will require such communication – but there should be a clear list of designated points of contact.
There could also be rostered schedules for this, said Mr Daniel Chia, HR Head at Samsung Electronics, who was part of the team that came up with the resource.
“(This would make it such) that it’s not always the one person that needs to be contactable, always on 24/7. So that everyone has the chance to take a well-deserved break and basically move away from work and have some of that personal time.”
If after-hours communication is needed, one should also clearly state the issue, the required action and the desired outcome, according to the template.
This would help avoid any confusion, said Mr Chia, raising an example of how a superior may sometimes send a message late at night with no expectations of a response.
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) will be organising workshops to guide firms on using this template from the last quarter of the year.
Speaking at a showcase of the resources, SNEF president Robert Yap said having such a policy would demonstrate employers’ commitments to work-life harmony.
“It also reminds them that while they are responsible to deliver their work in a timely manner, they also have a duty to respect other co-workers’ established working hours.”
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