Despite the current wave of employers forcing workers back to the office, Singapore workers still overwhelmingly want to work from home — Gen Zers and millennials in particular. 

Seventy-three per cent of young talent in Singapore prefer remote over in-person work, according to a 2023 survey by research and advisory firm Universum. 

This is no mere passing fancy, either. Deloitte’s research finds that the majority of Gen Zers (69 per cent) and millennials (70 per cent) in Singapore would seek out job opportunities elsewhere if their current employer were to mandate full-time on-site work. 

Keeping in mind that Gen Zers are poised to make up a quarter of Asia-Pacific's population by 2025, companies that offer remote positions will increasingly enjoy a recruiting advantage over their competitors. 

But for jobseekers, finding remote work right now is easier said than done. 

One barrier remote-job seekers face is competition. Fully remote roles are in high demand and can receive thousands of applications per role: Each month, Remote sees an average of 30,000 people applying for remote roles.

Another is a lack of transparency, whether deliberate or unintentional, in job listings themselves. 

Within the confines of a traditional job ad on job posting platforms such as Indeed, honest employers recruiting for remote roles have little opportunity to communicate their specific expectations for on-site work, travel, and time-zone availability. 

These entry fields may not even be available in the form templates for such listings. The onus is on employers to indicate the remote expectations for each role in the job description, and few take the time to explain these in detail. Jobseekers are often left unsure and, lacking the ability to filter for roles that work for them, have to sift through each job description to determine whether a role is remote. 

On Indeed’s platform, for instance, jobseekers can filter their search according to pay range, geographic location, experience level, education level, or date posted, but not whether the job is remote. 

Many job markets are seeing drastic shifts in hiring demands and trends, especially with the advent of game-changing factors such as artificial intelligence. Amid fast-paced changes, drafting job descriptions is already rife with uncertainties when it comes to “traditional” in-office roles — these grey areas become even murkier when it comes to less established remote positions. 

As for dishonest employers, in order to enhance the appeal of their offered roles to top talent, they can sometimes be incentivised either to market their roles as remote — even if they require candidates to be based in a specific city or country — or to only belatedly specify requirements for time spent in an office, as current job platforms have no built-in mechanisms to mitigate employers’ misrepresentations for remote requirements. 

When employers do not adequately communicate the parameters and expectations for a remote role, it makes it difficult for remote-job seekers to find the right fit, leading to time and resources wasted on both sides in the hiring process.

ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND BORDERS

There is no shortage of opportunities out there for young Singaporeans who want to build fulfilling careers remotely. 

Our 2023 Remote Workforce Report found that 44 per cent of businesses globally are now seeing a substantial surge in full-time employees located overseas. 

The demand for remote roles is clearly there but the process of finding such roles and opportunities, especially those with employers based outside of Singapore, needs to be improved. It is time for job search services and platforms to offer appropriate tools that can effectively match jobseekers with the right remote opportunities worldwide. 

This will help to both level out and widen the playing field, especially for young talent. Enabling candidates to assess and understand if the work structure aligns with their preferences helps them to make informed decisions and save time. 

Part of the issue is that the most widely used job search tools available today, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, were built well before remote work became mainstream. The way job listings are structured and organised on such platforms still defaults to the way people typically looked for jobs five years ago, such as focusing on location-based searches. 

Finding a new job is not just about locating an open position; it is about establishing trust between the jobseeker and the potential employer. Transparency and accuracy are fundamental to this process. 

Well-designed job search tools play a crucial role in facilitating this connection by enabling jobseekers to not just find open roles, but to comprehensively understand whether these roles align with their skills, values, and career aspirations. 

Job search platforms and services must prioritise transparency, ensuring that users will be able to see just “how remote” a role truly is before applying. 

TAPPING INTO GLOBAL TALENT 

In a rapidly evolving job market, remote work is here to stay. The desire for flexibility and autonomy in work arrangements is not a passing trend but a fundamental shift in the way we approach employment. However, the most common hiring and job-hunting processes in use today are still riddled with obstacles.

Updating job-search tools and processes will help bridge geographical gaps between jobseekers and employers. This means more people can find opportunities that align with their skills and aspirations, not just their physical locations. 

This not only benefits individuals seeking meaningful work but also has far-reaching implications for businesses seeking to access top talent and thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Improving the remote-job search process is a critical step towards making global employment more equitable and inclusive, enabling young Singaporeans greater access to career opportunities anywhere in the world. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Job van der Voort is the co-founder and CEO of Remote.com, a global HR firm that helps companies easily and transparently hire worldwide. He is also a presenter and speaker on topics related to scaling a remote-first startup, remote culture, and the future of work.