SCWO workforce re-entry study: flexible work arrangement questions

Poon Da Qian

2 hours ago

Empty office desk with papers, folder, and pen for Butler Magazine.

If you are returning to work in Singapore after maternity leave or a caregiving break, the support you are most likely to want is flexible work. The thing worth checking hardest is what sits around that flexibility: whether the workload is manageable and whether there is a route to progress. The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) put numbers behind the priority in September 2026, when among the women it polled, 61 per cent named flexible work arrangements as the most desired form of return-to-work support. ^[1]

The same study found flexibility on its own did not necessarily make a job sustainable. So the useful conversation is not whether an employer is 'flexible' in general, but what their process is, who decides, and what happens to pay if your hours change. The Ministry of Manpower's Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR), in force since 1 December 2024, make several of those questions answerable in writing. ^{[1] [2]}

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What the September study found — and what it cannot tell you

SCWO released Women's Workforce Re-entry: Challenges, Barriers & Opportunities on Friday, 18 September 2026, as CNA Lifestyle reported the same day. It is the first part of a three-year research-to-action programme that will focus on domestic violence in 2027 and caregiver well-being in 2028. Conducted with NTUC's Women and Family unit, it drew on 20 in-person focus group discussions with 120 women in July, an online poll of 502 women living in Singapore aged 24 and above in August, and a review of return-to-work initiatives here and overseas. ^[1]

Its chief executive officer, Yan Ping Koh, said the findings are not nationally representative of all women in Singapore; the research aimed instead to capture experiences across different life stages and points in a return journey. Of the women polled, 299 had taken or were on a career break, and 80 per cent of those said they wanted to return to work. Nearly 70 per cent of all women polled believed taking a career break made finding suitable employment more difficult. ^[1]

Where the support runs out

Flexibility ranked first because, SCWO's findings suggest, it can matter at several points in a career: it could prevent someone leaving under caregiving pressure, make a return more feasible and help her stay afterwards. But in the focus groups some women said they had accepted lower pay or seniority in exchange for workable arrangements, and the study found flexibility alone did not necessarily make a job sustainable where workloads remained unmanageable or progression opportunities were limited. SCWO's review already counted 33 non-government return-to-work initiatives in Singapore, alongside public support, and Koh's point was about connection rather than volume: better linking support across the journey, from staying employed to finding a suitable role to being supported afterwards. ^[1]

What matters also varies by background. PMET returners placed greater importance on support tailored to their industry, role and seniority; non-PMET returners were more concerned about practical training, predictable schedules, accessible workplaces and viable pay. A hypothetical comparison shows why that matters in practice: one returner is offered a role described only as 'flexible', with no stated workload split; another is offered a role with a documented request route and a stated approach to pay when hours are reduced. Both were told flexibility mattered. Only one of those answers is checkable before signing. ^[1]

Four flexible work arrangement questions to put before you sign

These are optional preparation for your own conversation, not an official interview sequence. Start by asking whether the company has an FWA approach and who approves a request. Employers can decide who approves FWA requests — a direct supervisor or HR, for instance — and MOM's FAQs note they may wish to set that out clearly so employees know where to approach for clarifications. You can also ask how a formal request would be handled even if the company has no FWA policy, since employers still need to assess and respond to formal requests from employees. ^{[3] [2]}

That duty arises once you are employed: the Guidelines cover all employees who have completed probation, regardless of sector or job role, and employers are not required to consider FWA requests from jobseekers. What an employer may do at the interview stage is state its FWA approach. ^{[3] [2]}

Next, ask how a formal request is handled. If the employer has stipulated requirements for one, follow them. If not, MOM says you could make it in writing, stating the date, the type of FWA with its expected frequency and duration, the reason, and the start and end date if relevant. You have two months for a response, though an arrangement can start earlier if you agree one. Finally, ask what happens to pay if hours drop: flexi-load arrangements that change total work hours and load typically involve a proportionate reduction in pay, so hours, load and salary changes should be discussed and agreed before the arrangement begins. ^{[2] [3]}

If the answer is no — and what to do then

A rejection should rest on business reasons. MOM points employers to factors related to the employee's job and performance and to how the requested arrangement may affect the business, giving a significant increase in cost burden or an effect on the ability to meet customer needs as examples; the list is non-exhaustive. An employer breaches the Guidelines if it has no process for considering formal requests, or rejects one without reasonable business grounds, and decisions are to be communicated in a transparent and timely manner. Where reasons given are not business-related, you can approach TAFEP, which will advise the employer to review the request; MOM encourages internal grievance mechanisms first. ^{[4] [3] [5] [6]}

Back to your question: flexibility is what returners rank first, and the shortfall sits in the workload and progression around it, not in the flexibility itself. So the questions to put before signing are about the process, the approver, the pay treatment for reduced hours and what follows a no — and the rules make each of those answerable in writing. Keep the arrangement documented if it matters to you, because the Guidelines cover formal requests only, and TAFEP does not look into complaints that do not meet those requirements. Co-chair of the Tripartite Workgroup Yeo Wan Ling has said access to flexible work arrangements is often the main consideration for caregivers, women workers and senior workers deciding whether to stay or return to the workforce. ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]}

Sources

BUTLER Magazine Editorial · AI-assisted research and writing, reviewed by our automated editorial team. Sources checked 2026-10-09. Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration.