Working mother Angela Goh has three children under the age of 10, and she and her husband regularly tap their employer's flexible work arrangements to juggle work and family.
The 33-year-old, who works in product sales, leaves work early and makes several stops to pick up her children before she reaches home. She then resumes work at night after all three have gone to bed.
"They are very family-oriented," Ms Goh said of her employer, local firm M.Tech, which specialises in cyber security and network performance.
Mr Calvin Lee, her 35-year-old husband and colleague, said: "It's based on mutual understanding and respect."
On Monday, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo visited M.Tech to see how it implements flexible working arrangements.
Mr Rayson Lim, the firm's chief financial officer, said allowing staff such flexibility helps it to retain talent and stay productive.
"If you can retain your staff, productivity is better because you don't have to keep training people," he said. "Our staff are responsible and they make sure that the quality of the work is not compromised."
The company's systems can alsocapture how much work has been done, he added.
More workplaces now support such flexible work arrangements, Mrs Teo said in Parliament yesterday.
To encourage Singaporeans to have more children, the workplace environment is critical, she said, adding that she was encouraged to see more companies taking such progressive steps to support their employees' caregiving needs.
Linette Lai