askST Jobs: My colleagues get more flexibility because of family commitments. What about me?

Managers may assume that employees without children can always stay late, travel at short notice or work during holidays.

ST ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL DIZON

Published Oct 26, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Oct 26, 2026, 05:49 AM

In this series, business correspondent Timothy Goh offers practical answers to candid questions on navigating workplace challenges and getting ahead in your career. Get more tips by signing up to The Straits Times’ Headstart newsletter .

How can I raise concerns about unequal workloads without appearing unsupportive of colleagues with family commitments?

Managers may assume that employees without children can always stay late, travel at short notice or work during holidays, said Don Leow, human resource director at the National Institute of Education.

But bosses should not assume that employees without children have fewer responsibilities outside work.

Employees who are single or do not have children may also have family commitments, including caring for ageing parents, or other personal priorities such as studying or managing their health.

“Being family friendly should not mean treating one form of family responsibility as more important than another,” he said.

“Fairness does not always mean giving everyone the same thing – it means treating legitimate needs fairly, while making sure the cost is not repeatedly borne by the same people.”

Less desirable duties, such as late or weekend assignments, as well as work during peak holiday periods, should instead be shared fairly, rather than assigned to those perceived to have fewer personal commitments.

“Too often, responsibilities are redistributed informally while deadlines stay the same... if the same dependable colleagues stay late, cover urgent work, attend the after-hours event or give way on preferred leave periods, over time, resentment can build,” said Leow.

To address this, managers should plan how work will be covered before employees go on leave or reduce their hours, rather than waiting for gaps to emerge.

They could also adjust deadlines, pause less urgent work or bring in temporary resources where necessary.

Any redistribution of responsibilities should be clearly communicated and time-bound, with employees knowing what additional work they are expected to take on and for how long.

Employees who take on substantially more work should also have their contributions formally recognised in performance assessments and development opportunities, said Leow.

Those who feel they are carrying more than their fair share should raise the issue with their manager, focusing on the additional workload rather than their colleagues’ personal circumstances, he added.

Allie Teh, senior manager for sales and marketing at recruitment agency Robert Walters Singapore, said flexibility in the workplace should be reciprocal, with colleagues supporting one another when personal commitments arise.

Just as employees without major family commitments may step in to cover for working parents who need time away, working parents should also be willing to do the same when their colleagues need support.

“The expectation should not be for one group to consistently take on more, but for colleagues to support one another within reasonable limits,” she said.

Leow also noted that managers could make well-meaning assumptions about working parents, such as avoiding assigning demanding projects to new parents out of consideration, inadvertently limiting their career opportunities.

But the better approach is simply to ask each person what they need and what they can take on, and to revisit those conversations regularly, because needs change across life stages.

On work-from-home arrangements, Leow noted that the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests , which took effect in December 2024, require employers to consider requests from all employees fairly, regardless of their reasons.

Therefore, bosses should assess such requests based on business needs and whether the work can still be delivered, rather than whether an employee has children, said Leow.

“Flexibility should be open to anyone whose role can accommodate it, not rationed according to whose reasons sound most deserving,” he added.

管理者可能会认为没有孩子的员工总是可以加班、临时出差或在节假日工作。

插图：迈克尔·迪宗

发布于2026年10月26日 上午5:00

更新于2026年10月26日 上午5:49

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我该如何表达对工作量不均的担忧，同时又不显得对有家庭责任的同事缺乏支持？

国立教育学院人力资源总监唐·廖表示，管理者可能会认为没有孩子的员工总是可以加班、临时出差或在节假日工作。

但老板不应认为没有孩子的员工在工作之外的责任就较少。

单身或没有子女的员工也可能承担家庭责任，包括照顾年迈的父母，或者有其他个人优先事项，例如学习或管理自己的健康。

他说：“对家庭友好不应该意味着将某种家庭责任看得比另一种更重要。”

“公平并不总是意味着给每个人同样的东西——它意味着公平对待合理的需求，同时确保成本不会反复由同一批人承担。”

不太受欢迎的任务，例如加班或周末工作，以及节假日高峰期的工作，应该公平分配，而不是分配给那些被认为个人事务较少的人。

“很多时候，责任只是非正式地重新分配，而截止日期却保持不变……如果总是那些可靠的同事加班、处理紧急工作、参加下班后的活动或在自己想休假的时候让步，久而久之，就会产生怨恨，”Leow说道。

为了解决这个问题，管理者应该在员工休假或减少工时之前就计划好如何安排工作，而不是等到出现空缺才采取行动。

他们还可以调整截止日期，暂停不太紧急的工作，或在必要时引入临时资源。

任何责任重新分配都应明确沟通并设定时间限制，让员工知道他们需要承担哪些额外工作以及需要持续多长时间。

廖先生表示，承担更多工作的员工也应该在绩效考核和发展机会中得到正式认可。

他补充说，那些觉得自己承担了过多工作的人应该向经理提出这个问题，重点放在额外的工作量上，而不是同事的个人情况上。

招聘机构 Robert Walters Singapore 的销售和市场营销高级经理 Allie Teh 表示，工作场所的灵活性应该是相互的，当同事们有个人事务需要处理时，应该互相支持。

就像没有重大家庭责任的员工可以替需要休假的在职父母顶班一样，在职父母也应该在同事需要支持时伸出援手。

“不应该期望某个团队不断承担更多责任，而应该期望同事们在合理的范围内互相支持，”她说。

Leow 还指出，管理者可能会出于好意对职场父母做出假设，例如出于体谅而避免给新晋父母分配要求高的项目，从而无意中限制了他们的职业发展机会。

但更好的方法是直接询问每个人他们需要什么以及他们能承担什么，并定期重温这些对话，因为需求会随着人生阶段的变化而变化。

关于居家办公安排，Leow指出，将于2024年12月生效的《三方灵活工作安排申请指南》要求雇主公平考虑所有员工的申请，无论其理由如何。

廖先生表示，因此，老板应该根据业务需要和工作是否还能完成来评估此类请求，而不是根据员工是否有孩子来评估。

他补充说：“任何能够胜任灵活工作的人都应该享有这种灵活性，而不应该根据谁的理由听起来最值得被尊重来分配这种灵活性。”