Employees want flexible work arrangements but hesitate to ask for it—MOM

Even though approvals for flexible work arrangements are more than 94%.

Despite flexible work arrangements (FWA) emerging as the most influential factor in job choice, formal and informal request rates remain relatively low, even though most requests are approved, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) latest Report on Employees’ Working Conditions released in May 2026.

MOM found that FWAs ranked ahead of leave benefits and Employee Support Schemes as the top Work-Life Harmony consideration in job decisions, underscoring a growing preference for flexibility in how work is structured rather than traditional time-off or support-based benefits.

However, despite high approval rates for FWA requests at around 94%, formal and informal request rates remain low relative to the share of employees who reported needing FWAs. MOM said this gap suggests the presence of informational, cultural, or procedural frictions rather than employer resistance.

More than one in three respondents—or 36%—cited bias or negative perceptions as the top concern during the flexible work arrangement (FWA) request process, according to a joint survey from NTUC Women and Family and the PAP Women’s Wing.

In this context, the Tripartite Guidelines on FWA Requests (TG-FWAR), implemented in late 2024, are expected to support higher utilisation by clarifying request processes and workplace norms.

In 2024, 84.5% of employees were provided with at least one type of scheduled FWA they required, indicating that FWAs have become a mainstream employment practice rather than a discretionary perk.

Among those who received their required arrangements, utilisation remained high at 96.2%, significantly above the pre-pandemic level of 46.8% in 2018.

MOM said the sustained uptake reflects the normalisation of FWAs and reduced stigma around their use.

Scheduled tele-working remained the most commonly required FWA in 2024 at 32.3%, followed by flexible hours at 23.2% and employees’ choice of days off at 21.2%.

The ministry noted that these preferences, largely unchanged from 2023, reflect stronger demand for flexibility in time and location of work rather than reduced-hour arrangements such as part-time work or job sharing.

Higher demand for flexi-time and flexi-place arrangements may also reflect the workforce composition, which is largely made up of professionals, managers, executives and technicians.

Flexi-time and flexi-place arrangements were also among the most accessible FWAs, with around seven in 10 employees requesting tele-working, flexible hours or choice of days off receiving them in 2024.

Sectors such as Information and Communications, Professional Services, and Financial and Insurance Services recorded strong demand for and provision of scheduled FWAs.

The report also found that resident employees aged 25 to 34 were more likely to require FWAs and consider them important in deciding whether to remain in the workforce, compared with older employees.

Tertiary-educated and female employees were likewise more likely to cite FWAs as an important workforce retention factor. By occupation, Clerical Support Workers and Professionals were among those most likely to remain in the workforce when FWAs are offered.