SINGAPORE - Flexible work is here to stay amid the Covid-19 pandemic and businesses that have offered it rank well among Singapore's top companies to work for, according to a list released by professional networking platform LinkedIn on Wednesday (April 6).
Those that offered upskilling opportunities amid the disruption were also recognised for their efforts.
Consumer goods giant Unilever, Standard Chartered Bank and insurer Prudential were the top three, in that order, of the 15 best workplaces in Singapore to grow your career.
OCBC Bank slipped to fourth place from first last year, while DBS Bank leapfrogged from 15th place in 2021 to fifth this year.
The list is in its second year and compiled based on LinkedIn data across seven pillars, each representing an element of career progression: ability to advance, company affinity, company stability, external opportunity, gender diversity, skills growth, and spread of educational backgrounds.
LinkedIn News senior managing editor Satoshi Ebitani said employee engagement and support is more important than ever as the world continues to navigate challenging realities.
"Our Top Companies list celebrates companies that are invested in the growth and well-being of the most important resource in the workplace - people. With dedicated programmes and initiatives to support career progression and the growing need for work-life balance, these companies are leading the charge for long-term success in the workforce," he added.
LinkedIn data found that job postings offering remote work in Singapore more than doubled compared with a year ago, and received nearly 1.5 times more applications.
Unilever Singapore, which topped the ranking after taking third place last year, adopted a permanent hybrid working arrangement last November and redesigned its office space to include quiet zones with height-adjustable desks and open collaboration spaces.
Meanwhile, Singapore's largest bank DBS gives employees the option to work remotely up to 40 per cent of the time.
Some 7,200 of the bank's employees are undergoing training in areas such as design thinking, data and analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and agile practices.
Financial services continued to feature prominently on the list, reflecting the resilience and recovery of the industry, said LinkedIn. Six out of the 15 top companies were financial institutions.
StanChart, which retained its second spot, has invested $5 million in a global learning hub to train and upskill 8,000 employees by this year.
Meanwhile, second runner-up Prudential Singapore partnered Ngee Ann Polytechnic to equip employees with digital skills such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.
LinkedIn added that OCBC is also focusing on upskilling its employees and new trainees. The lender's Future Smart Programme has created more than 50 sustainability-related jobs over the last two years, and around 1,900 sustainability training programmes have been launched for 30,000 employees.
Six companies also made their debut on the Top 15 list - Google parent Alphabet, healthcare company Abbott, Grab, Roche, AIA and JPMorgan Chase.
This article has been edited for accuracy following a clarification by LinkedIn.
