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Family meal allowances, medical coverage for dependents: How firm cares for staff’s loved ones too
At Singapore Land Group, employees are supported not just in the work they do, but also in their roles as parents and caregivers
Ms Cynthia Liang (left) and her son participate in an activity together at her workplace during Bring Your Kids To Work Day.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE LAND GROUP
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This year, Ms Cynthia Liang faces one of the most stressful challenges for parents in Singapore – preparing her son for the PSLE. However, she finds comfort in knowing that she can request more work-from-home (WFH) days to support him better.
“Just being there makes a difference,” says the 43-year-old assistant general manager at Singapore Land Group (SingLand).
“I may not be able to help him with his schoolwork, but he can tell me what he’s struggling with and I can lend a listening ear. Having someone who cares for him by his side will help with his mental state.”
Caring for employees and their families
SingLand’s adoption of a flexible WFH policy – two years before the release of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests which sets out the process for employees to formally request such arrangements – underscores the real estate firm’s progressive approach to work-life balance.
This policy has greatly benefited its workforce – nearly half of whom are women and many are juggling parenting or caregiving responsibilities.
“Something as simple as being able to work from home can actually allow you to be a better parent while still fulfilling your work responsibilities,” says Ms Liang.
For the mother of three boys, the firm’s annual $500 medical expense coverage for dependents of employees has also lightened her financial load. The amount can be used for spouses and children.
“Kids get sick quite often, and with three kids, it really adds up. At least, I don’t have to worry too much when they see the doctor so frequently.”
Such family-centric policies and benefits are a key reason SingLand has been named one of Singapore’s best 250 employers list compiled by global research firm Statista in collaboration with The Straits Times.
These policies and perks embody the company’s belief that work and family life are not a zero-sum game; employees should be able to prioritise both without compromise.
“Family is important to SingLand and its employees,” says Ms Welch Er, head of human resources (HR). “Knowing their loved ones are well-cared for allows employees to focus on and engage fully with their work.”
In a companywide Your Voice Survey conducted in 2024, three in four employees said they would recommend SingLand as a great place to work at.
Unlike traditional companies that might expect employees to leave their personal lives at the door, SingLand takes the opposite approach.
The company designates June as “Family Month” and organises various activities for employees and their family. One such event was “Bring Your Kids To Work Day”, held in 2023. During the event, Ms Liang’s sons, along with other children, received Lego sets, enjoyed magic shows and toured the company’s departments to learn about their functions.
Events like “Bring Your Kids To Work Day” let staff share with their children what they do at work.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE LAND GROUP
“My three boys had a lot of fun,” she says. “They know I go to work every day, but the office is like a ‘black hole’ in their minds. Now they have a glimpse of my nine-to-five life.”
Such events also allow employees to relate to one another beyond mere job titles, deepening mutual understanding.
These opportunities to engage employees’ families and foster connections among staff continue well beyond the month of June. Throughout the year, employees can bring their children to team events, such as pickleball matches. They also receive a yearly $100 allowance for family meals – a small gesture that emphasises the importance of quality family time.
Ms Er says: “These initiatives help nurture close-knit families, which naturally shapes our family-like company culture. Employees should feel at home when they come to work.”
Strong support networks at home and in the office contribute to employee resilience and well-being. Based on findings from the Your Voice Survey 2024, SingLand is ranked near the top 70th percentile among companies that participated in a Gallup survey in Singapore on employee well-being and work-life balance.
A culture of trust and openness
To support employee self-care, SingLand offers three days of Medical Time-Off annually, allowing employees to attend routine health and dental check-ups without using their annual leave.
Ms Liang says: “It’s helpful because such appointments are often scheduled during the workday. It’s super hard to get an appointment after 6pm.”
In 2025, the company introduced Sick Leave without a medical certificate, which allows employees to take time off to recuperate at home if they are unwell without the need for a visit to the doctor.
Ms Er explains: “This reduces their anxiety about having to wait for an hour for a consultation, especially when they already have medicine at home and don’t really need to see the doctor.”
To Ms Liang, these benefits not only offer employees greater autonomy in managing their health, but also communicate the employer’s trust in its staff.
“It shows that the company thinks of us as adults who can manage our own work, instead of being suspicious of us,” she says.
This trust and care extended to employees have shaped an open culture at SingLand. This translates even to the office’s redesign in 2023. When staff returned to the office after the Covid-19 pandemic, they found their cubicles had been replaced with an open-plan layout.
In the office’s cafe-style pantry, employees come together for lunch and to celebrate birthdays, a ritual that SingLand supports by sponsoring birthday cakes. The company also promotes healthy eating with a weekly distribution of fruits in the pantry, offering employees an opportunity to gather and catch up with one another. The workplace overhaul created opportunities for informal bonding that Ms Liang, an introvert, “never thought she needed”.
The open-plan office has also changed the way employees work. No longer are employees separated by partitions or required to knock on doors. Now, Ms Liang and her colleagues can simply stand up at their table and immediately discuss their work face-to-face.
“It’s a seed HR has planted to allow for serendipitous meetings. These things may seem insignificant, but they actually create a certain type of magic,” she says.
Empowering women at work
Women Inspired to Thrive is a ground-up initiative that supports female employees balancing work and home.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE LAND GROUP
Another employee-focused initiative that SingLand has rolled out is Women Inspired to Thrive (WIT), an ground-up employee resource group led by the firm’s head of legal, Ms Teo Hwee Ping.
To support female employees who wear multiple hats at home and at work, WIT chairs bi-monthly closed-door sharing sessions on topics ranging from building confidence at work to managing personal finances.
These sessions serve as an opportunity for introspection for employees like Ms Liang, who, for the last 12 years, has dedicated herself to both her role at SingLand and raising her three sons, often at the expense of personal development.
“It’s very difficult for women. When you get to a stage when you have to mind your child, you have less time for self-improvement,” Ms Liang says.
At a recent session on aligning work with one’s strengths, she realised that a role recalibration might inject new energy into her work life. This led to a conversation with Ms Er, in exploring the possibilities of a job rotation into other potential roles which could benefit both Ms Liang and the company.
“It allowed me to take a step back, understand myself, and figure out how to move forward in my career,” she explains.
WIT also promotes a culture of psychological safety. Employees who may initially be reluctant to speak up gain confidence in its supportive environment, eventually finding their voice in other settings.
“In this setting, you get to see the vulnerabilities of others, which can make you reevaluate your initial impressions. That’s quite powerful,” Ms Liang adds.
Read more about Singapore’s Best Employers here.
