After lawyer and opposition leader Lim Tean asked in a social media post if Singapore is “progressive enough” to adopt a four-day working week, netizens had a lot to say.
Mr Lim posted a screenshot of an article titled “Japan Inc. turns to 4-day work week to offer flexibility to employees.” It was posted on May 3 by Kyodo News and said that more Japanese companies are offering employees the opportunity to work for four days per week instead of five, as this offers more flexibility and work-life balance.
The People’s Voice Party leader predicted that this type of set-up would “is going to be the norm worldwide quite soon,” because “a shorter workweek may lift productivity and increased productivity leads to higher wages.”
He added that this would also have a positive effect on Singapore’s total fertility rate, “which stands at 1.12! This is the 3rd lowest in the World after Taiwan and South Korea. We need to start producing more Singaporeans and we must stop importing foreigners! The PAP have talked incessantly about increasing the TFR but have produced zero result for decades.”
Answers to Mr Lim’s questions have been mixed.
A number of the commenters seemed to feel this will not happen, at least not any time soon.
Some commented on the long hours many Singaporeans spend working each day.
One netizen opined that a four-day work week would have no effect on the birth rate.
A commenter wrote that some “employers are only thinking of ‘profit’ and that means employing ‘cheap labor’ to work long hours.”
/TISG
Culture changes needed before Singapore can accept a 4-day work week