SINGAPORE — Middle management within organisations could be crucial in ensuring flexible work arrangements do not end up as “dead polices”, a panel discussion heard yesterday. There could also be greater magnanimity when dealing with working mothers who require additional time off from work, said Mr Fang Koh Look, Executive Chairman of Absolute Kinetics Consultancy (AKC).

Speaking at a work-life seminar, which was attended by more than 100 company representatives and union leaders, Mr Fang noted that middle managers, who are usually “pro-management”, tend to be very “procedural” when faced with employees who require flexible work arrangements. Working mothers, particularly single mothers, face different sets of problems, he said.

AKC was among the 16 firms recognised in the inaugural Best Companies for Mums contest, organised by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Women’s Development Secretariat and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices.

To ensure that AKC’s 120 employees benefit from its flexible work arrangement schemes, Mr Fang included helping staff who are mothers as part of the supervisors’ key performance indicators.

Working mothers can also be assets to companies as they are often more “nurturing” and can help mentor younger colleagues, said DBS Group Managing Director and Head of Rewards Cheong Meng Foong.

The bank was another organisation recognised yesterday. “When you give them (working mums) flexible work arrangements, they feel obliged to work harder to deserve the privilege,” she said.

In a survey of 450 medium and large enterprises released last week, some 30 companies said they were in the midst of implementing flexible work arrangements while over 300 did not offer any. The main reason cited for the lack of such work arrangements was that they were “not suitable for the industry”, and some companies felt the lack of discipline in employees made it “unfeasible”.

But Ms Sylvia Choo, Director of the NTUC Women’s Development Secretariat, said companies could identify particular departments that would be able to offer such arrangements.

For example, manufacturing plants may not be able to implement flexible work arrangements but these firms can offer compressed workweeks or part-time arrangements, with backend staff working staggered hours if a compressed workweek is not suitable.

“It is all about working out where pockets of flexibility can be exercised,” Ms Choo said.