Good practices like focusing more on employees' well-being, increasing work flexibility and adopting technology to streamline operations can help banks and financial institutions prepare for the next pandemic, a study has found.
The Study on Future Workplaces - commissioned by The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) - hopes to guide financial institutions in planning ahead and safely navigating the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
It comes as the pandemic has profoundly changed how people live and work around the globe.
The workplace redesign strategies presented in the study - which involved five months of research - aim to help those offering essential financial services build resilience in their operations, ABS said yesterday.
ABS chairman and OCBC Bank group chief executive Samuel Tsien said banks here have adapted their operations quickly over the past year to cope with the outbreak, but "the longer-term impact of the pandemic on social behaviours and workplace norms is not yet fully known and understood".
The study, which covers areas such as the future of work, building redesign and crowd management, was put together by a team comprising banks and experts from other relevant industries.
"While it is not intended to be a set of policy guidelines, it is a set of best practices for banks to future-proof their workplaces to ensure the safety of our customers and staff as well as to ensure the continuity of our operations," said Mr Tsien.
One suggestion involves integrating essential safe management measures into the future workplace, from maintaining safe distancing markers in public areas to allocating restrooms to different teams.
Another recommendation is to create a business resilience plan, which includes allowing employees who can work remotely to do so and having upskilling programmes that produce more versatile workers.
The study, conducted by a consortium of consultants led by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, also had input from an expert panel on managing infectious diseases and designing workplaces for health and safety.
The experts included Singapore's chief health scientist Tan Chorh Chuan, National Centre for Infectious Diseases senior consultant Kalisvar Marimuthu and the National University of Singapore School of Design and Environment dean Lam Khee Poh.
Mr Ong Chong Tee, deputy managing director for financial supervision at MAS, said the pandemic "has catalysed a rethink of traditional workplace models".
He urged financial institutions to consider the recommended workplace redesign strategies, which would help prepare them "for any situations in future that may require safe distancing and work-from-home arrangements".
