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Women returning to work
Recognising that targeted interventions are required for effective transition back to work, NTUC U Women and Family, NTUC LearningHub and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) started a new career comeback programme in 2021 to help women get back to the workforce with the right mindset, refreshed skills and knowledge while matching them to jobs offered by progressive employers to support their caregiving needs.
The programme will see returners going through four phases and offers three different pathways to prepare for their career comeback:
- NTUC LearningHub’s six-month SGUS Programme with a job-matching component
- Career Conversion Programme, otherwise known as train and place programme, which helps learners to be placed in a full-time employment while undergoing training at NTUC LearningHub
- Business Adaptive Skills, which is a series of short courses spanning one to three days that focus on in-demand skills such as programming, project management and data analysis
Work-Life Harmony
What is Work-Life Harmony?
A state where an individual is able to achieve both professional and personal goals.
“Work" and "Life" are interdependent elements that are increasingly intertwined, given changing demographics and increased pressures from work and family responsibilities.
Why is it important?
Employees who experience greater work-life harmony tend to be more motivated and productive in their work. Organisations can also expect the following business benefits:
- Improved retention rates
- Increased employee productivity
- Higher levels of engagement
- Lower absenteeism or sick leave
- Increased ability to attract talent
Is your company Work-Life Friendly?
Find out the level of work-life harmony in your organization with diagnostic tools for employers that were developed by the Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony (AfA-WLH) with the support of NTUC and Tripartite Partners.
Diagnostic tools:
i. An employer self-assessment to review companies’ provision of work-life support
ii. An employee pulse survey to review employees’ state of work-life harmony
Using these tools, we hope for organisations to:
- Perform an internal work-life harmony assessment within the organisation
- Understand what constitutes as work-life harmony practices
- Embed and implement work-life harmony best practices
- Seek continual improvement in work-life harmony within the organisation
i. Employer Self-Assessment of Work-Life Harmony
This self-assessment tool will provide an overall score based on the different work-life practices implemented in the company.
It consists of 91 Assessment Indicators across 5 Sections:
- Employee Support Schemes
- Enhanced Leave Policies
- Flexible Work Arrangements
- Communication & Utilisation
- Management Support
Download this Guide to WLH Self Assessment Tool for step-by-step instructions.
If you will like to conduct a self-assessment of your company’s work-life harmony, please contact us at womenandfamily@ntuc.org.sg.
ii. Employee Work-Life Harmony Survey
To support companies in prioritising the well-being of employees and understanding their employees, NTUC U Women and Family, together with EngageRocket, launched a complimentary work-life harmony pulse survey, initiated by the Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony (AfA-WLH), supported by Tripartite Partners.
The survey aims to help companies implement a successful work-life strategy and build a win-win situation for both employers and employees by measuring and improving work-life harmony at workplaces. Employees who experience greater work-life harmony tend to be more motivated and productive in their work while employers tend to see improved retention rates, lower absenteeism or sick leave and increased ability to attract talent.
To learn more about the survey, please visit EngageRocket’s webpage.
Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony
The Tripartite Standards (TS) are a set of good employment practices that all employers should implement at their workplaces. There are nine standards and they each cover various aspects of employment areas such as fair recruitment practices, flexible work arrangements, grievance handling processes, age management and more.
As a Tripartite Standard (TS) adopter, you can use the TS logo in your publicity and recruitment materials, giving you a competitive edge. You’ll be seen as an employer of choice, helping you to better attract and retain talent.
NTUC U Women and Family strongly encourage employers to adopt the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony (TS-WLH), the latest set of TS launched in 2021, to better support employees with caregiving needs.
Other types of TS that employers should adopt to create a progressive work environment include:
Better Workplace
The ‘Better Workplace’ campaign by NTUC U Women and Family aims to recognise and showcase progressive employers who have shown commitment to create better workplaces by providing:
- Flexible Work Arrangements
- Work-Life Harmony Practices
- Managing Workplace Harassment Policy
How to get started
Complete the Work-Life Harmony Self-Assessment
STEP 1
Adopt the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony
STEP 2
Implement a Managing Workplace Harassment Policy
STEP 3
Here are some progressive employers who have embarked on the Better Workplace campaign by providing flexible work arrangements, work-life harmony practices, and implemented a managing workplace harassment HR policy!
List of progressive companies who qualified for the campaign:
- APRW Pte Ltd
- Ban Choon Marketing Pte Ltd
- Bok Seng Logistics Pte Ltd
- DTC World Corporation Pte Ltd
- D-Team Engineering Pte Ltd
- Eligo Pte Ltd
- Empire Logistics Pte Ltd
- Eng Lee Logistics Pte Ltd
- Grenadier Press Pte Ltd
- Hebeloft Pte Ltd
- Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Manna Pot Catering Pte Ltd
- Micron
- Oriental Remedies Group
- Pizza Hut Singapore Pte Ltd
- Re Sustainability Cleantech Pte Ltd
- Re Sustainability Solutions Pte Ltd
- Swift Health Food (Singapore) Pte Ltd
- Singapore Water Association
- Training Masters Workforce Institute
- Warren Golf and Country Club
- Wong Fong Academy
- Xi De Li Pte Ltd
10 Companies Sign Commitment with NTUC to Make Workplaces Better
10 companies from the supply chain and logistics sector signed an MOU with NTUC U Women and Family on 16 August 2022, committing to make their workplaces better and safer for workers, and to redesign jobs to attract more women to the industry.
Leading the charge is Bok Seng Logistics, a branch under Supply Chain Employees' Union – SCEU. Mr Dave Ng, Group CEO, is a strong believer of ensuring the welfare of employees to retaining and motivating them in the company's transformation journey.
When 60-year-old Anada Kumar was diagnosed with cancer in early 2019, he was surprised at how much his company of almost 20 years cared for his welfare and well-being.
While on a two-month hospitalisation leave following surgery, he received frequent calls from his company, Bok Seng Logistics, asking how he was recuperating. His colleagues from the human resources department also came to visit him at home.
What Mr Kumar appreciated the most was when the company allowed him to work from home after he ended his leave.
Working from home allowed him to limit his overall movement and journey to work, which enabled him to recover better. Bok Seng Logistics leads the way by putting in place the arrangement even before working from home was the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click HERE to read the Media Release for more information!
Find out how your company can be part of the campaign, please email us at womenandfamily@ntuc.org.sg.
CUB Programme (C U Back at Work)
In April 2023, the NTUC U Women and Family unit teamed up with Chye Thiam Maintenance (CTM) to launch a first-of-a-kind programme, called the CUB Programme. It is the first-of-a kind in the cleaning and environmental industry with flexible training and work arrangements such that persons with caregiving responsibilities would be able to transit back into the workforce with ease and peace of mind.
The CUB Programme (C U Back at Work) provides returners with:
Confidence in the workplace
Uplift skills through training
Better lives and livelihoods
- Cubbies will complete up to 8 weeks of paid flexible training which includes fully-subsidised 6 WSQ courses and 1 confidence building course.
- Upon training completion, cubbies will receive a monthly salary of $3,000.
- Cubbies will form part of a new elite team of environmental specialists at supervisory level with clear career progression pathways and work on iconic projects
Apply for your spot in the CUB Programme at career@chyethiam.com or indicate your interest via email to NTUC U Women and Family at womenandfamily@ntuc.org.sg.
To find out more, drop by our CUB booths at these various locations across Singapore:
Here are some snapshot photos of our exciting past events -
| What we have been up to! | |
| Women Back to Work Women Career Fair @ Oasis Terraces - 29 April 2023 |
Photo 1: Mr Edy Tan, CEO of Chye Thiam Maintenance Pte Ltd; Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Director of NTUC U Women and Family (WAF); Mr Brian Tan, Deputy CEO of NTUC e2i. Photo 2: A jobseeker enquiring more about the CUB Programme. Photo 3: NTUC Women Mentors were on hand to share about their inspiring Union and career experiences. |
| Career Exploratory Journey @ Chye Thiam Maintenance Pte Ltd - 7 June 2023 |
Photo 1: The employees and management of Chye Thiam enjoying the Wellness Corner under the Better Workplaces Campaign.
Photos 2 - 4: Inside Access to Chye Thiam: Interested applicants were given exclusive preview on the CUB programme such as introduction to the latest cleaning technology, learn useful skills and seek advice and support from onsite career coaches and women union leaders. |
To read more about CUB Programme, check out our Labourbeat Article here.