新加坡：30多岁的父亲R每天最担心的事，不是加班到深夜，而是——他成了部门里唯一一个每周在家办公两天的人。
当初，当他向部门主管申请灵活办公时，对方爽快批准，只为让他能照顾两岁的孩子。可当公司于2025年底将‘回办公室上班’重新定为默认政策后，他的‘在家办公’竟成了同事眼中的异类行为。
“他们不说破，但会用沉默惩罚你，”R说，“我发Teams消息没人回，邮件发了三天没回复，偏偏等我回办公室，才凑过来当面聊——仿佛远程工作是种偷懒的特权。”
尽管他工作响应率100%，绩效稳居团队前茅，他仍担心某天主管会说：“你要继续远程办公？那这份工作可能不再适合你了。”
这不是个例。
新加坡推行灵活办公已超一年。根据人力部（MOM）数据，七成企业已提供灵活工作安排，近九成申请获得批准。但员工们却发现：灵活性，正在悄悄成为一种代价。
“隐形霸凌”：当同事用沉默表达不满
R的妻子在医疗行业，无法远程办公；母亲兼职帮忙带娃。他每周两天在家办公，只为多睡一小时、边工作边盯住孩子，结果效率反而飙升。可办公室政治却让他如履薄冰。
另一位在博物馆工作的Jolie，因照顾病重父母获得灵活工时。主管起初信任她，但高层却担心：“如果谁想在家就回家，那办公室还有意义吗？”
父母去世后，这位上司甚至每天发消息查岗：“你真在工作吗？别把灵活当福利。”
“父亲的原罪”：为什么男人申请远程办公更难？
新加坡国立大学与伦敦国王学院2022年研究发现：男性申请远程办公，反而更容易被贴上“不够投入”的标签。
因为传统观念中，男性本就是“理想员工”——全天候在线、随时待命。当他们提出灵活安排，就打破了“男人就该在工位上拼命”的刻板印象。
“他们不是不努力，”研究者Dr. Wang指出，“而是他们的‘努力’，被默认定义为‘坐在办公室’。”
“不是福利，是刚需”：癌症康复者、新手妈妈的无声挣扎
一位癌症康复员工坦言：“同事以为我好了，可我每天要吃药、做复健、应对脑雾和疲劳。他们不理解，为什么我不能准时开会。”
而像Arveen Kaur这样的职场妈妈，虽被公司主动提供“兼职全职”岗位，仍不敢公开提及孩子需求——怕被当成“靠照顾家庭才获得优待”。
“你不是在偷懒，你是在拯救生产力”
人力部数据显示，65.4%的员工将“灵活办公”列为择业关键因素，仅次于薪资。15%的“高就低聘”者，更是因为“时间自由”才接受岗位。
但问题在于：政策只要求“考虑”请求，不强制“批准”。
“这导致经理们把灵活办公当成‘施舍’，”南洋理工大学Trevor Yu教授说，“他们以为‘在办公室’=‘有责任心’，却忘了：真正的敬业，是交付成果，不是打卡签到。”
未来已来：从“打卡思维”到“成果思维”
专家呼吁：企业必须停止用“是否在工位”衡量价值，转而建立以绩效、交付、结果为核心的评估体系。
“灵活办公不是奖励，是新常态。”
R说：“我们有育儿津贴、生育奖励，但若连‘在家带娃’都算职场风险，那新加坡的生育率，永远只能靠补贴硬撑。”
“当一个父亲因为想照顾孩子，就要被怀疑是否‘配得上’这份工作——那我们真正失去的，不只是他的生产力，更是下一代的希望。”
Working mum Arveen Kaur on her first day of work in 2024 (left) and with her daughter in 2025 (right). (Photos: Arveen Kaur)
CLASHES OVER FLEXIBILITY
In some cases, disagreements over flexibility have put workers’ livelihoods in danger and led to acrimony between employer and employee.
MW, 40, works in a real estate consultancy and is a father of two. His 10-year-old son has complex special needs, difficulties with mobility and feeding, and is non-verbal.
In early 2024, the family went through a crisis period when MW’s son was hospitalised and their maid, the boy’s main caregiver, was diagnosed with an end-stage illness.
With his son fully reliant on him, MW had to ask his then-employer to let him work from the hospital so he could look after the boy.
The employer was unhappy as this went on for two months, and warned MW he could be terminated if this continued.
He managed to change jobs before that, and now works for a company that gives him more flexibility to work from home. His son is out of the hospital and doing better.
But MW said he is not open with his new employer about his son’s health conditions, and would hesitate to apply for flexible work arrangements even if he needed them.
“If my work is really strictly asking me to come to the office …. I might be reluctant to apply (for flexible work arrangements),” he said.
“My former experience was pretty traumatising. I almost lost my job and I was the sole breadwinner. So if I lose my job, it’s really not easy.”
CNA also spoke to a working mother who made a report with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) about issues including flexible work.
She wanted flexibility in her work location and timing to fulfil her maternity-related and infant caregiving responsibilities.
Her request was turned down by her employer citing the operational requirements of her role, said the woman, who is a senior leader in her firm.
The disagreement with her employer has not been resolved.
Such disputes are why TAFEP provides a channel to investigate complaints.
If companies do not comply with having a process to evaluate flexible work requests, the agency can advise and educate employers on how to follow the guidelines.
As for cases where employers are recalcitrant or wilfully refuse to comply with the guidelines, MOM may issue a warning and require them to attend corrective workshops, the ministry said previously.
So far, TAFEP has received one complaint on flexible work arrangements since the guidelines took effect on Dec 1, 2024.
“The complaint involved a company that communicated the outcome of the flexible work arrangement request verbally and not in writing,” said a TAFEP spokesperson.
“TAFEP has since worked with the company to revise its processes to be in line with the tripartite guidelines.”
THE FLEXIBILITY STIGMA
To look into how formal remote work arrangements translate to real-world outcomes, researchers Wang Senhu from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Chung Heejung from King’s College London investigated how managers in Singapore perceive employees who work remotely.
In their 2022 survey – which was before the guidelines were formalised – 473 managers were asked to evaluate hypothetical workers with different profiles, including some remote workers.
The workers were rated on their commitment, productivity, team spirit and promotion opportunities.
The managers gave remote workers significantly lower ratings than full-time office workers, according to the findings published this February in the journal Gender, Work & Organization.
The researchers said this confirms theories of a “flexibility stigma” – the bias that workers who use flexible work arrangements are less productive, motivated or committed.
