WFH No Longer Default Mode, Up To 50% Employees Can Return To Offices From 1 Jan

50% WFH Employees Can Return To Offices From 1 Jan

The days of work from home may soon be over as Singapore has announced a change to workplace arrangements starting next year.

The authorities announced in a press conference on Tuesday (14 Dec) that 50% of employees who are able to work from home can now return to the office.

This new ruling will be in line with workforce vaccination measures that are also kicking in at the start of 2022.

Among some of the upcoming new measures is the ruling that vaccinated workers and those who have recovered from the virus within a stipulated timeframe may return to the office.

Here’s a summary of the latest updates.

Concession for unvaccinated employees to return to office looked into

According to TODAY Online, 50% of all WFH employees will now be able to return to the office from 1 Jan next year.

The law will require them to be vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 within the past 270 days.

Speaking in a press conference, Minister Lawrence Wong also shared that the government is considering removing the concession for unvaccinated persons to return to worksites with a negative Covid-19 test.

Under the previous measures, those who are unvaccinated would still be able to return to the workplace if they could produce a negative Covid-19 test.

However, discussions are still ongoing and the MOH will announce a decision in due time.

MOH looking to relax 50 person cap for work-related events

As it stands, the current cap for work-related events is still at 50 people.

However, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has stated that they are looking to relax this number. They will give an update on this on another day.

Regardless, this is not a green light to intermingle between co-workers. All staff will need to remain masked, seated at a safe distance and vaccinated.

Additionally, the government continues to ban all social gatherings in workplaces.

Option to return to office now viable again

While the debate between WFH and returning to office rages on, at least the option is now available for companies.

Nonetheless, this revised measure is a strong sign of the government’s belief that Singapore can live with Covid-19.

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Featured image adapted from MS News.