The truth about work-life balance in Singapore - Street Interview

If you live in here permanently, it's not cool. Just go with the flow, enjoy life to the fullest and so be it. It's way too stressful over here. Working, I don't know because we are housewives. For sure, money can totally buy you happiness. I'm here in Orchard and I want to know from people how work-life balance is really like in Singapore. Where are you from? Singapore. How would you say that is life-work balance in Singapore? It depends on individual. For me, I can manage my work-life balance because there are certain flexibilities within my company. I would say it's quite balanced because for my industry, yes, it's a 9 to 5 but we rally over time. So after that, we get to do whatever we wish to do. So actually, it's quite comfortable at the moment. Can you guys work from home? Can. No, not for me. I'm in the medical field as well but I'm a private clinic nurse. So I have to be in the clinic all the time. Let's say, would you take a 20% salary cut if you can work from home full-time? I'm actually working from home full-time. So if you ask me to get a 20% cut, not really, no. Would you prefer to actually work from home? I would prefer but if you're going to add in the stipulation of a 20% cut, then no. Because it's quite manageable for me actually. If you could change one thing about the work culture in Singapore, what would it be? Be more flexible. If the employers trust the employees to get things done, it doesn't matter where the employees should work. I think for me, it's more of a hands-on. So maybe more courses to get us at least more hands-on experience. More practical experience. Correct, more practical experience. Other than that, from my side, it would be much okay. I'm Singaporean. How would you perceive work-life balance for yourself here in Singapore? I have a great balance in general. I don't differentiate between work and life. I love what I do. You seem very happy. Happiness from 1 out of 10? Life is pretty good, 10. 10? A 10 out of 10? Oh my god. Do you work from home? Yes. Full-time? Yes, I run my own business. If you could change one thing about the work culture in Singapore, what would it be? I wish people would realize that it's not going to give them a lot of satisfaction at the end of their lives. And make better decisions for themselves now. They say like, oh, I wish I were younger. And I wish I were 30 years younger. But think about it, you are 30 years younger. You woke up at 68, and today you're 38, let's say. So you have 30 years ahead of you. And you're 38 now, so you have 30 years to decide. So your 68-year-old self can't decide for your 38-year-old self. Would you say money can buy you happiness? Oh yes, for sure. Money can totally buy you happiness. People who say that just don't know where to shop. If you work to live, it's too expensive to live. Oh, wow. Okay, that's a very good ending. Thank you so much. After hearing so many people talking about flexibility and wanting more control over their work lives, it reminded me of why I started my own business. But it also reminded me that I procrastinated doing so for a very long time. Because just the thought of all the paperwork and administrative things gave me anxiety. And I wish that I knew about OSUM a lot earlier. Because OSUM helps you with all of these annoying things and is super efficient in incorporating your own company. They handle everything remotely and completely paper-free. So it is perfect for digital nomads or everyone who wants to take advantage of Singapore's tax benefits. What makes them different is the fact that they work with really simple software and with expert accountants. You get your financial admin, taxes, bookkeeping, and accounting managed in one place. Their platform lets you track invoices, monitor cash flow in real time, and connect you with banking. All in one single dashboard, so you don't have to use multiple apps. Over 15,000 entrepreneurs are already using OSUM to save up over 8 hours a week on financial tasks. That's basically a full workday that you could spend on growing your business. Or do something else you like. I leave a link in my description for 60% off of all services of OSUM. Thank me later. It's honestly such a game changer. Where are you from? India. But you live in Singapore? We live in Singapore, yeah. How would you perceive work-life balance in Singapore? Working? I don't know because we are housewives. Other things, considering the social life and kids going to school, it's quite comfortable. Any comment on that? It's not that bad. We have friends who have been working here for long and they still take time to hang out with us. I feel that's pretty much a work-life balance, right? Where are you from? I am from the Philippines. You mentioned you are a nurse. How would you perceive work-life balance for you at the moment? Work-life balance? Well actually, I don't know but I'm living my life right now. I'm just going with the flow, enjoying life to the fullest and so be it. Okay, amazing. So you cannot work from home, right? No, I cannot. I'm working in my facility right now. Would you prefer to work from home? No. I would like to work in a place where I can do such things. Because in-house, I feel like it's going to be boring. I want challenging situations. If you could change one thing about the work culture in Singapore, what would it be? So far, I don't have any thinking of what to change but maybe more off days. Okay, more leave. More leave, yeah, exactly. Where are you from? I'm Singapore. Do you work from home? No. Our company doesn't allow working from home. Would you say you are more efficient when you go to the office? I think it's a mixture of both. Yeah, I think sometimes it could be more efficient at the office but I think we still need the balance of having a day at home. Would you take a 20% cut of your salary if you could work from home full-time? Yes, I think so. If you could change one thing about the work culture in Singapore, what would it be? Work culture? I think because I'm from the engineering industry, I feel like in the engineering industry, our increment or in terms of the compensation scheme could not match the finance sector. So we are quite stagnant compared to the finance industry. Where are you from? The US. So you work here in Singapore or you're just visiting? I have a home here in Thailand. And when you work here, how would you perceive work-life balance? Gosh, that's why I have a home in Thailand. It's way too stressful over here. Can you work from home? I can. I own the company if I want. If you could change one thing about the work-life balance here in Singapore or the work culture, what would it be? Tell people to chill out more a little bit. People are too stressed in Singapore? Too uptight, yeah. But the US must be super stressful as well. I guess I'm being biased. Not to me, no. We have a lot of issues in the US, but people just kind of go with it. On a scale from 1 to 10, how happy are you currently here in Singapore? Here in Singapore, on a scale of 1 to 10, maybe 2. 2? Maybe 2. Why is that? Because of what we just talked about. It's just too stressful, too uptight. But the food is amazing. The food is amazing, but the culture when you live here is different. If you're just staying here for a short period of time, it's cool. But if you're living here permanently, it's not cool. So you say your biggest stress factor is mainly work? Yeah, the culture, the whole attitude. And that's why I have a home in Thailand as well. Singapore. How do you perceive work-life balance in Singapore? I think it's something that one has to manage it, I guess. I don't think companies will try to push so hard even though they say. It's all about managing yourself to get the work-life balance, I guess. Do you work from home? No, I don't. Okay. I work in office every day. Do you think you would be more efficient or are you more efficient by going into the office than working from home? I think it depends on the job scope. I don't think work from home suits everybody. Would you take, for example, a 20% salary cut if you could work from home full-time? Probably not now. If you could change one thing about the work culture in Singapore, what would it be? It has to be a more direct approach from the top management that can better communicate with the people below to have a more open communication. Having said that, I think top management also find it difficult to share 100% truth, I guess. Because not everybody will understand as well. Let me know in the comments how you perceive work-life balance. And if you would take a 20% salary cut if you could work from home full-time. Watch this video up next because the algorithm thinks you might like it. And if you like the video, subscribe and like because it really helps my channel. See you in the next one.