71% of Singapore employees surveyed will take the COVID-19 vaccine when available to them

Just 6% of employees say they do not want to be vaccinated, and the majority of such employees say they will leave their job if their employer mandated vaccinations.

Vaccination sentiment is positive in Singapore, as a majority of employees (71%) and employers (63%) stated that they will be taking the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.

Just 6% of employees say they do not want to be vaccinated, and the majority of employees in this group say they will leave their job if their employer mandated vaccinations.

This is per Employment Hero's new survey, The Impact of Covid-19 on Business Owners And Employees, based on an analysis of over 1,000 Singapore employees and employers, conducted in March 2021 and aimed to understand sentiments over the previous six months. [Malaysia findings here]

With the vaccination drive going strong, questions are raised about the future of employment. In this survey, only 29% of employees expect to return to the office. Among these, employees listed reasons such as poor work-from-home set up, lack of productivity, and employer expectations as key reasons for their preference to return to the office.

Among employers, those who are keen for a return to the office cited better communication, increased productivity and more efficient handling of staff requests.

ALSO READ: Employer policies for vaccination of the workforce: Discussions underway in Singapore

The study also probed respondents on the state of their mental health, with the following key findings:

• A majority of employees (71%) and employers (61%) reported feeling stressed on some level in the past six months.
• Of that, 17% of employees and 13% of employers rated their personal stress levels as “very stressed” - the highest proportion in comparison to respondents in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
• Employers in Singapore are no closer to prioritising mental health - 62% of employees cited mental health stigma as a top concern, and more than half (56%) feel uncomfortable discussing it with their superiors.
• On the employer side, mental health stigma is a concern for 66% of businesses, but half of all businesses surveyed said that workplaces should not bear the burden of their employee’s mental health.

Ben Thompson, CEO and Co-founder of Employment Hero, noted: "The mental-health fallout of COVID-19 in the workforce needs more attention. The workplace is an important environment to discuss mental health, but because of the stigma attached to it and the fear of job losses, many people are continuing to suffer in silence.

"Employers have the opportunity to change this climate by making mental wellbeing a business priority. Providing employees with the right resources, supportive leadership, and taking a customised approach to mental health are great first steps."

Photo / 123RF

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