17 March 2024

IHH Healthcare, NUS, Otis and PSA raise the bar on leadership and workplace mental health

WorkWell Leaders (WWL), a Singapore-based registered charity that focuses on workplace wellbeing and mental health as a strategic ESG and leadership priority in private and public sector companies, has announced the winners of the WorkWell Leaders Awards 2024.

The WorkWell Leaders Awards recognise best practice standards in addressing systemic change at a societal level in the biggest catchment area, the workplace. WWL said that they are the only awards that break out the specific elements of workplace wellbeing that drive business outcomes across separate categories, and also recognise leadership behaviours that underpin cultural change within an organisation.

“Singapore needs to address mental health and wellbeing upstream more urgently in promotion and prevention, in addition to supporting caregivers and individuals with mental wellbeing challenges,” said Founder and Chairperson of WorkWell Leaders, Anthea Ong.

“With 70% of people in Singapore working and spending most of their waking hours at work, the workplace is and must be the catalyst to support workers, and in turn their families.”

In a prerecorded video address, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam urged corporate leaders to: "Make your company a role model, a beacon of a culture of empathy, a culture which provides proactive support to those with different shades of anxiety or depression. Make it an enjoyable place for everyone to work.” 

Source: WorkWell Leaders. President Tharman urged the audience at the awards ceremony to make their companies role models for encouraging employee wellbeing.

To dive deep into the critical role of leadership in supporting mental wellbeing, WorkWell Leaders also announced a new national benchmark to be established that will demonstrate the intersection of the business risks of mental health, the role of leadership and culture on workplace wellbeing and the impact on business outcomes and stakeholder value. 

The charity explained that existing global and local workplace mental health benchmarks, while useful, tend to hone in on perceptions of employee support at an individual level. The WorkWell Leaders benchmark will focus on the status of organisation-wide transformation that delivers worker wellbeing, organisational performance and long-term value for stakeholders.

“Whilst the WorkWell Leaders Awards winners are the vanguard of the urgent cultural shift needed in the workplace, the benchmark will establish the progress of institutional change that we are making collectively to help boards, CEOs and businesses chart their own strategic roadmaps for more resilient and happier employees and work communities for sustainable growth,” said Ong.

The Be Well Awards recognise leadership. The winners are:

- Dr Prem Kumar Nair, Group CEO, IHH Healthcare, for the Wellbeing CEO Award. This award is for the CEO (or equivalent) who has made the biggest impact on their organisation by using their own wellbeing journey to enhance understanding and acceptance in addition to committing to executive sponsorship for workplace wellbeing in vision, leadership actions and investment.

- Clarence Ti, Deputy President, National University of Singapore for the CEO’s Wellbeing Partner Award. This is awarded to the senior partner of the CEO (or equivalent) who has shown the strongest commitment to mental health and wellbeing throughout the organisation by integrating mental wellbeing into strategy through developing, implementing and evaluating programmes to drive better health and business outcomes.

The Lead Well Awards recognise organisation-wide strategies and actions. The winners are:

- PSA Corporation for the Wellbeing Innovation Award. This award recognises an organisation that has developed a unique idea or programme to address wellbeing and mental health challenges for employees.

- National University of Singapore for the ESG Wellbeing Strategy Award. This award recognises an organisation that positions employee wellbeing as a strategic opportunity to drive ESG-led business growth that empowers employees and work communities to thrive.

- Otis International Asia Pacific for the Healthy Workplace Culture Award. This award recognises the unique character and personality of an organisation that enhances a safe and supportive environment where employees thrive by living its values every day.

- The overall Wellbeing Organisation of the Year Award was presented to Otis International Asia Pacific. This award recognises the organisation that has done the most to Be Well and Lead Well to drive change towards a thriving workplace for employees and work communities.

Proceeds from the award ceremony will go towards funding the development of tools and programmes for leaders and organisations to take actions on their employees’ mental health and wellbeing, ultimately building thriving workplaces across Singapore.

Singaporeans place mental health as the biggest health problem (46%) facing the country today (Ipsos). Duke-NUS & IMH found that workplace anxiety and depression are costing the local economy S$15.7 B annually, or approximately 2.9% of GDP.

WorkWell Leaders is an action-oriented network of cross-industry private and public sector leaders. It began in 2018 as an informal working group and became a registered charity in Singapore in November 2022. It is the only non-profit collective of CEOs and leaders to champion mental health and workplace wellbeing as a strategic, leadership and ESG priority to drive better employee experience to benefit communities and society, while delivering positive business results.

Capella Sydney shares first birthday joy

 

Source: Capella Sydney. Capella Sydney celebrates its first birthday with an exclusive package that includes a A$365 hotel credit.

In celebration of its first birthday, Capella Sydney is offering an exclusive package which includes a A$365 hotel credit and breakfast for two guests. 

- Full daily breakfast at Brasserie 1930

- Guest-only access to The Living Room, a distinctive feature found in all Capella properties. The Living Room serves as a gathering space where guests can engage in daily Capella rituals and immerse themselves in Sydney’s culture surrounded by a curated collection of historic local artifacts and art.

- Non-alcoholic in-room beverages from the personal bar

- Access to the Fitness Centre and a 20-m indoor heated swimming pool

- Complimentary wireless Internet

A minimum four-night stay is required*, and the hotel credit should be used during the stay.

Originally erected as The Department of Education in 1912 and reborn as the Capella Hotel Group’s inaugural Australian hotel, Capella Sydney blends heritage and contemporary design, world-class accommodation and dining. 

To make a reservation call +61 2 9071 5090 or book online at capellahotels.com/Sydney. 

*The following terms and conditions apply: 

- Rate inclusions are valid for up to two adults only. 

- One-night non-refundable deposit inclusive of taxes is required at time of booking when reserving Prestige Suites. 

- The package is only valid for bookings with a minimum stay of four consecutive nights, and an early departure fee applies for shortened stays. Hotel credit may be applied towards all food and beverage experiences only, including in-room dining and Auriga Spa treatment services. 

- Hotel credit must be redeemed in full during the stay. 

- Applies to all guest rooms, suites and Prestige Suites.

16 March 2024

CASIO announces G-SHOCK x ITZY SS2024 collection in Singapore

CASIO has announced new G-SHOCK shock-resistant watches as part of a spring 2024 promotion involving ITZY, the K-pop girl group that has been a G-SHOCK brand ambassador since February 2023.

In a promotional visual, ITZY members are wearing the new GMA-P2100SG-1A, GMA-P2100SG-4A, GMA-S120VA-7A, and GMA-S140VA-7A. The GMA-P2100SG-1A and GMA-P2100SG-4A, worn by Ryujin and Chaeryeong respectively, evoke the sight of a beach at sunset. These watches are based on the GMA-P2100, which is a smaller version of the popular GMA-S2100 analogue-digital combination timepiece. 

Source: CASIO. ITZY members model the new G-SHOCK x ITZY SS2024 collection.

The length of the band has also been adjusted to fit even slimmer wrists. The buckle and side button are made of stainless steel, enhancing the watch’s minimalist look. Key resin components used in the bezel and band are made with bio-based resin, a material produced using renewable organic resources that is expected to help reduce environmental impact.

Yuna and Yeji wear the GMA-S120VA-7A and GMA-S140VA-7A respectively, which are compact versions of the analogue-digital combination timepieces the GMA-S120 and GMA-S140, respectively. Clad only in white, the dials and hour markers have been finished with silver vapour deposition.

The G-SHOCK x ITZY SS2024 collection will be available on 12 April 2024, from 11 am at selected G-SHOCK stores and online.

10 March 2024

Transformative policies could lead to more women in leadership roles in APAC

Concept art generated by Blue Willow to illustrate an office discussion.
Concept art generated by Blue Willow to illustrate an office discussion. The genders of the people sitting vs standing in the image were not specified in the prompt.

LinkedIn's latest data for the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) has found that women are significantly under-represented in leadership roles across Australia, India, and Singapore.

Despite constituting 49% of Australia's workforce, only 35% of leadership positions are occupied by women, for instance, a statistic that LinkedIn says has been unchanged since 2020. Similar disparities persist in India (23%) and Singapore (38%).

In addition, the share of women being hired into leadership over the last five years remains low: 38% in 2020 to 41% in 2024 in Australia; 24% in 2020 to 23% in 2024 in India; and 35% in 2020 to 38% in 2024 in Singapore. 

The company recently surveyed hiring managers in the Asia-Pacific region and said that things could be changing. The survey has highlighted that transformative policies such as internal mobility, career progression, and flexible work arrangements could become more common.

The survey found that female leaders are championing these transformative policies more than their male counterparts, though all leaders are moving in the same direction. In the year ahead, 54% of female leaders aim to emphasise career advancement and skill building, against 51% of male leaders. Moreover, 54% of female leaders prioritise internal mobility compared to 45% of male leaders, 50% advocate for flexible working policies (46% of male leaders said the same), and 38% believe that personalised flexible work arrangements are more attractive to employees compared to 31% of male leaders.

More than half of female leaders (51%) are committed to prioritising career progression for employees, compared to 49% of male leaders, and 49% emphasise the importance of flexible work arrangements, compared to 45% of male leaders. In China, 20% of female leaders are more likely to believe that fully remote work arrangements based on personal preferences are more attractive to employees, compared to 5% of male leaders.

“The lack of progress in female representation in leadership positions over the last five years in Australia, India, and Singapore is disappointing. While there has been some improvement in the share of women being hired into leadership roles, there is still much work to be done. 

"However, there is reason for optimism, as female leaders are more likely to advocate for career advancement, internal mobility, and flexible work arrangements, which can benefit other women seeking to progress in their careers or balance professional and personal responsibilities. I believe these initiatives have the potential to shift the needle in terms of female representation in the workforce,” said Feon Ang, LinkedIn's APAC MD.

LinkedIn's research has further found that the top five skills identified by hiring managers in the Asia-Pacific region emphasise not only AI knowhow, but also soft skills - problem-solving abilities (35%), communications skills (27%), critical thinking (25%), AI skills (19%) as well as IT and web skills (17%). 

Over the past eight years, LinkedIn said that both women and men have shown an increase in the share of soft skills listed on their LinkedIn profiles, but women have demonstrated a notably faster pace of growth. This trend has led to a doubling of the gender gap from 1.5 percentage points in 2016 to 3 percentage points in 2024 in favour of women when it comes to soft skills, and holds true across 70 countries.

LinkedIn suggested that shifting towards a model that prioritises skills over traditional experience could significantly increase the appearance of women in roles where they are traditionally under-represented. The company said that doing so could lead to a 24% increase in the talent pool of women compared to men globally.

9 March 2024

Fatigue with equal rights in Singapore? Ipsos weighs in

Market researcher Ipsos has found that six in 10 Singaporeans (62%) believe that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men in Singapore, things have gone far enough. A breakdown of the data revealed a higher agreement among men (68%) compared to women (55%) on this sentiment.

Source: Ipsos research report: International Women's Day 2024. Respondents voted on the statement "There are actions I can take to help promote equality between men and women". Across a 31-country average, nearly two in three people (64%) agreed there are actions they can take to help promote equality between men and women. Around a quarter of people think there is nothing they can do (23%). There were no meaningful differences by gender.

The insights are from Ipsos' latest global study, carried out in collaboration with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London for International Women’s Day. The survey was conducted among ~24,000 people across 31 countries, which includes ~500 Singaporeans.

Ipsos looked deeper into the results, and found that almost half of Singaporeans (48%) think that we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality that we are discriminating against men. Notably, a significant 57% of Singaporean men echoed this sentiment on discrimination, as opposed to 29% of women.

While most Singaporeans (67%) admit that there are actions that they can take to help promote equality between men and women, there is still a fear among Singaporeans in advocating gender equality with 48% of Singaporeans saying that they are scared to speak out for the equal rights of women because of what might happen to them. In fact, more than half (58%) of Singaporeans agreed that men are being expected to do too much to support equality.

In business, almost two-thirds of Singaporeans think that male and female leaders are equally good at creating a financially successful and innovative company (58% and 60% respectively). Among those with a preference, there is a significant difference between those that think male or female business leaders are better. In both aspects of creating a financially successful company and an innovative one, 16% think males are better, and only 8% think females are better.

Respondents demonstrated a tendency to favour male bosses (36%) over female bosses (10%). However, the majority of respondents (51%) maintained a neutral stance, expressing no particular preference.

Katharine Zhou, Country Manager for Ipsos in Singapore commented: “It's revealing to see a majority believe that women's rights in Singapore have reached an adequate level, yet there is a significant gender difference in these perceptions. The concern expressed by 48% of respondents that the promotion of women’s equality might be discriminating against men is notable and warrants further examination.

"It is also interesting to note the apprehension among Singaporeans about advocating for gender equality. This could be attributed to various sociocultural factors and shows us that while we have made progress, there is still work to be done."

Zhou noted that there is a tendency to associate certain roles and capabilities with specific genders. "This points to a potential unconscious bias in our society," she said. "These findings call for a more comprehensive dialogue on gender equality, one that transcends familiar arguments into an increased appreciation of the nuanced sentiments that are emerging.”

Global findings include:

- Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to think agree that a man who stays home to look after his children is less of a man (25%, 27% respectively) than Gen X (20%) and Baby Boomers (11%). But within the generations there are differences in opinion. There is a 20-percentage point difference between Gen Z men (60%) and Gen Z women (40%) when it comes to thinking women’s equality discriminates against men.

- Two in three (65%) across 31 countries agree that women won’t achieve equality in their country unless men taken actions to support women’s rights too.

- Half (51%) of people across a 30-country average believe men are being expected to do too much to promote equality and fewer than two in five (39%) identify themselves as feminists.

6 March 2024

Electrifying pre-game action at Shangri-La hotels during the Hong Kong Sevens

The Shangri-La Group, Hong Kong is inviting rugby fans to elevate their Hong Kong Sevens experience with a stay and experience package at the Island Shangri-La, Kowloon Shangri-La or Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong. Exclusive day passes are included.

Source: Shangri-La Group Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.
Source: Shangri-La Group Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.

The promotions offer a pre-game stay and a buffet breakfast, and include day passes. An extra breakfast and day pass can be obtained for a bundled price.

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong

Island Shangri-La offers a luxurious contemporary accommodation option. Fans can opt for one-day or two-day pass packages.

Electrifying Hong Kong Sevens Weekend (https://bit.ly/48L7g9k)

Prices from HK$6,200 per night, including:

  • One-night luxury stay
  • Daily breakfast for 1 adult
  • A one-day pass to the Hong Kong Sevens (for entry on April 7)

Hong Kong Sevens Weekend Escape (https://bit.ly/49DsZ)

Prices from HK$6,600 per night. The package includes:

  • Two-night luxury stay
  • Daily breakfast for 1 adult
  • A two-day pass to the Hong Kong Sevens (for entry on 6 and 7 April)

Promotion Period: 5 to 7 April, 2024

Level 7, Island Shangri-La, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central  

Reservations and enquiries: reservations.isl@shangri-la.com | +852 3069 9788

Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong

The Kowloon Shangri-La is moments away from the Hong Kong Sevens venue. Guests can enjoy both the rugby action and a comfortable stay.

Electrifying Hong Kong Sevens Weekend (https://bit.ly/3wz5T06)

Prices starting from HK$3,200 per night, including:

  • One-night luxury stay
  • Daily breakfast for 1 adult
  • A one-day pass to the Hong Kong Sevens (for entry on 6 or 7 April)

Promotion Period: 5 to 7 April, 2024

64 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon

Reservations & enquiries: reservations.ksl@shangri-la.com | +852 3069 9788

Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong

A modern getaway from the hassle and bustle in an urban setting.

Electrifying Hong Kong Sevens Weekend (https://bit.ly/3lRtKD7) 

Prices starting from HK$3,300 per night, including:

  • One-night luxury stay
  • Daily breakfast for 1 adult
  • A one-day pass to the Hong Kong Sevens (for entry on 6 or 7 April)

Promotion Period: 5 to 7 April, 2024

Level 3, Kerry Hotel, 38 Hung Luen Road, Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon

Contact reservations.khhk@thekerryhotels.com | +852 3069 9788 to book.