First-time mum Davina Yong places her five-month-old daughter in her in-laws' care on weekdays, as she does not have help at home to look after her.

Thanks to her employer's flexible-hours policy, which was introduced in March, Ms Yong is able to drop her daughter off before reaching the office by 10am on Mondays. On Fridays, she starts at 8am so that she can leave at 5.30pm to pick her up.

Ms Yong, 35, works as a sales coordinator at Grand Park City Hall. Her civil servant husband works shifts.

Previously, the hotel had fixed office hours for administrative staff - from 9am to 6.30pm. Now, staff are allowed to stagger their start times, provided they put in 9 1/2 hours a day.

"Because of this arrangement, I don't have to send my daughter to my in-laws on Sundays, and I can have a few extra hours with her," Ms Yong said.

Grand Park City Hall human resource executive Zoe Huang said 28 of the hotel's 130 employees are currently on the flexible-hours arrangement.

"We can feel that staff have become more bubbly. They're happier because they can spend more time with their families," she said.

Besides flexible hours, the hotel has also started offering flexible work days, where front-of-house employees can choose to work four weekdays and either a Saturday or Sunday, instead of six days a week.

The arrangement is for up to three months.

There are also varied employment structures, such as permanent part-time roles, to attract and retain staff.

Two years ago, the hotel also set up 10 sleep capsules at the staff pantry, which staff can use between shifts or even overnight if they are working an early shift the next day.

During the fasting month of Ramadan earlier this year, senior sales manager Ida Jaafar, 37, used a capsule during her lunch break to rest or watch shows on Netflix.

"Being able to rest really helped me focus for the rest of the day," she said.