Why is flexibility becoming a dirty word in the office?

Forcing workers back may fill desks, but it can impact the place of goodwill.

- Kang Yang Trevor Yu

When Grab told its Singapore employees in October 2024 that they would need to return to the office five days a week from December, the move was framed as a way to strengthen collaboration and creativity.

Earlier this month, the National University of Singapore announced that it has implemented a five-day work-from-office policy for all full-time staff. A spokeswoman added that it still offers flexible work arrangements.

These decisions, though in different sectors, reflect a wider shift. Across industries, leaders are re-emphasising the office as the centre of work life. The question is no longer whether people can work remotely, but whether organisations still want them to.

Globally, hybrid work remains common rather than exceptional. The 2023 Global Survey of Working Arrangements, spanning 34 countries, found that full-time employees now spend on average 0.9 day per week working from home - equivalent to about one day in five. Roughly one-quarter (26 per cent) of employees work in hybrid arrangements, 8 per cent are fully remote, and the rest continue to work entirely on site.

In Singapore, flexibility has become an established expectation. The Ministry of Manpower’s 2023 Prevalence of Work-Life Harmony Initiatives report showed that 58.2 per cent of full-time employees required at least one scheduled flexible work arrangement (FWA), and nearly 90 per cent of employers granted it.

Since December 2024, the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR) have also required companies to handle FWA requests through clear, documented processes. Flexibility is now an expectation, yet some employers are mandating a full-time return to the workplace.