Chart from Intellect

Proactive measures needed to keep productivity high.

Singapore’s labour force is well ahead of its APAC peers in terms of promoting work engagement, employee wellbeing, and organisational support in the workplace, according to mental healthcare firm, Intellect. 

In a study measuring the effectiveness of well-being programmes at work, the report found that employees in the city-state scored 64% in organisational health, a tad higher than the regional average of 63% and the fifth highest among 12 APAC countries surveyed.

Emerging Southeast Asian nations Vietnam (65.1%), Thailand (65%) and the Philippines (64.4%) booked the highest scores in the region, while Taiwan, Province of China (58.7%) and Korea (58.1%) were at the bottom of the rankings.

Singapore (76.07%) also performed slightly better than the regional average (76%) in terms of employee productivity, ranking sixth among its peers while Japan (77.5%) leads the pack.

Among the industries surveyed, Singapore scored well in the education and healthcare sectors, as well as in government work and non-profit organisations.

Intellect found that industries with low organisational health scores recorded high levels of presenteeism, which refers to lost productivity when employees are not fully functioning at work. This includes the booming e-commerce and online services sector.

“The prevalence of presenteeism across the region underscores the urgent need for employers to implement targeted interventions and proactive measures,” said Theodoric Chew, co-founder and CEO of Intellect.