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Oral Answer to PQ on After-hours work communications

NOTICE PAPER NO. 925, 940 OF 2026 FOR THE SITTING ON 5 AUG 2026
QUESTION NO. 2335, 2354 FOR ORAL ANSWER

2335. Dr Charlene Chen: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what data does the Ministry collect on after-hours work expectations and digital connectivity among employees; (b) what assessment has been made of the adoption and effectiveness of workplace policies governing after-hours communication; and (c) whether the Ministry will study the relationship between workplace hyper-connectivity, family life and fertility intentions.

2354. Dr Hamid Razak: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has reviewed the implementation of the Tripartite Advisory on Mental Well-Being at Workplaces in relation to after-hours work communications; and (b) if so, what findings have emerged regarding its impact on workplace practices.

Answer:

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to address the PQs filed by Dr Charlene Chen and Dr Hamid Razak together.

2 MOM monitors the adoption of workplace practices related to after-hours work communication. Based on MOM’s data, in 2025, 55% of full-time resident employees reported that their employers had policies governing after-hours communication. This is up from 48% in 2022. These policies include practices such as not expecting responses to non-urgent messages until the next working day or providing time-off-in-lieu for after-hours work. We have not conducted a separate assessment of the effectiveness of individual policies.

3 Mental health and well-being, family aspirations and fertility intentions are influenced by a wide range of personal, societal and economic factors. Supporting work-life harmony plays an important role of creating an environment that is conducive to these aspects of Singaporeans’ lives. We will continue to work with our Tripartite Partners to encourage workplace practices that support work-life harmony, including through the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony and Tripartite Advisory on Mental Health and Well-being at Workplaces.

4 A Marriage and Parenthood (M&P) Reset Workgroup has also been set up to develop a whole-of-society approach to better support Singaporeans in their M&P journeys.