Beyond The 9-To-6

According to Her World's annual What Women Want survey, a staggering seven in 10 women in Singapore are willing to take a pay cut for a job that offers better perks and benefits, with a flexible work schedule being a top priority. Are employers here ready to accept flexible arrangements as part of our lexicon?

- Cheryl Lai-Lim

Marketer Ailsa Tan describes herself as the “weird” boss who would tell her employees at The Boutique Agency to go home if they had no looming deadlines – no matter if the day had just begun.

“When we would get stuck creatively, I would chase people out of the office to do an activity that would spark their creativity, whether it’s going to the movies or heading home for a bath. Many people could not understand that because it broke the traditional business model, but I believe that it’s the results that matter. Sometimes, the best work we can do is not behind a desk.”

When she left for a different organisation, she implemented a WFH routine once a week there. This was pre-pandemic, and long before WFH became ubiquitous and part of the working lexicon. Ailsa says she “met with much resistance from the ground due to deep-seated mistrust in the organisation”.

“The challenges in changing the culture were significant, as many were accustomed to a more traditional work environment. However, when Covid hit, we were operationally ready to work remotely through the WFH scheme, which benefited the organisation.”

Today, as the founder of Singapore marketing agency Boing! Group, Ailsa continues to champion flexible work arrangements.

“We work around each individual’s schedule, be it childcare needs or parental care needs. All we ask for is accountability, and for each individual to update us so we can ‘cover’ for each other during those hours when they are not at their desk,” she says.

Since the pandemic, the concept of flexible work has emerged as a cornerstone for job satisfaction and employee retention. The traditional 9-to-6 model is giving way to more adaptable schedules, remote work options, and innovative approaches like compressed workweeks.