From Singapore to Malaysia, in Asia’s work-from-home tug of war, have Gen Z got the upper hand?

From Singapore and Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippine’s traffic-clogged capitals, young professionals are demanding a better work-life balance

The change is also set to benefit the ‘Sandwich Generation’ and South Korea’s working women. Even workaholic Japan seems to be getting in on the act

9-MIN READ9-MIN

It’s not just Gen Z workers, flexible work arrangement can also benefit young parents – and those who have to care for elderly relatives. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:30am, 11 May 2024Updated: 9:16pm, 6 Jun 2024

Corrected [11:45am, 13 May, 2024]

[11:45am, 13 May, 2024]
An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Singapore's Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests as the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. This has been corrected.

Since joining a cryptocurrency research firm in 2021, 27-year-old Singaporean Jake Ong has taken meetings from Portuguese cafes, written research reports from the comfort of an Airbnb in Spain and typed up his work while up in the air.

He is among Asia’s ever-expanding cohort of Gen Z workers taking work from home to a roving extreme; either going part-time or shunning traditional office hours altogether for multiple paid roles that better fit their schedules.

This is a generation of employees who are determined to regain control of their own time and cement a revolution in the way work is done – even as they must sacrifice the security of a job for life that previous generations enjoyed.

Much of the change stemmed from pandemic-era remote-working practices that forced employers across Asia to become more flexible. Adaptable and forward-thinking companies embraced this new paradigm, meeting workers halfway and ushering in a dramatic cultural shift in employment.

Others kicked back against this new way of working, corralling employees back into offices and onto old schedules. Ong knows he doesn’t want to be among them.

“I definitely feel happier not having to adhere to traditional corporate arrangements,” he told This Week in Asia from his current base in South Korea.

“The time I’ve saved on travelling is around two hours a day … close to 20 days [a year], which can be used for your own personal activities like going to the gym.”