Assessing Public Service Guidelines on After-hours Communication for Promoting Work-life Harmony and Healthier Workplace Culture

Dr Charlene Chen asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Public Service has implemented guidelines on after-hours work communication; and (b) if so, what assessment has been made of their effectiveness in promoting healthier workplace norms and work-life harmony in the Public Service.

The Public Service is committed to supporting officers' well-being, including promulgating workplace practices and norms that allow public officers to strike a good balance between their work and personal commitments.

Good practices include setting reasonable expectations, such as not having to respond to work email or messages after office hours, unless urgent. Where operational exigencies require officers to work or respond outside of office hours, supervisors are expected to exercise judgement, prioritise work appropriately and minimise disruption to officers' non-work time. Examples of setting such norms include the use of email banners stating that recipients are not expected to respond outside of working hours unless indicated.

We also monitor our officers' workplace experience through employee feedback channels and employee surveys. Agencies regularly review and adjust their workplace practices in response the feedback received.