According to Mr Noel Hon, Chairman of the Committee on the Family and Managing Director of NEC Singapore Pte Ltd: "The typical Singapore workweek averages 10.2 hours of overtime. Our families face greater stresses now."

"As Singaporeans increasingly face this bind and 'time-trap' between work and home, more innovative, technologically-driven practices are likely to make their way into our offices in the future," Mr Hon added.

More employers in Singapore are now facing this challenge head-on. Companies are becoming increasingly aware that helping staff to get it right at home and work is key to retaining the best talent and to stay competitive and move ahead. Many have taken active steps to make their work places family-friendly.

The Civil Service, for example, which is the largest single employer in Singapore, recognizes the difficulties working mothers face in managing their multiple roles. Since 1987, the Civil Service has allowed its married female employees to take no-pay leave and part-time employment for childcare purposes. It also allows paid leave for up to 5 days per child per year for working mothers to look after their sick children below six years old.

At the Housing & Development Board (HDB), two generations of staff are now enjoying a range of benefits, which the Board has been providing and progressively fine-tuning for the past 40 years. HDB continues to invest heavily in staff well-being, spending on average S$755 per employee a year.

Take father and son team - Executive Estate Officer Chew Poh Chuan, 52, and Chew Kian Beng, 29, an Executive Systems Analyst, both of whom benefit in different ways from HDB’s menu of diverse benefits.

The elder Mr Chew, who has been with HDB since 1967, found HDB’s employment benefits which include childcare services and recreational facilities, "very satisfactory". HDB’s scholarship scheme also saw his son through university. The younger Mr Chew, now a father-to-be, is already planning to enroll his child in HDB’s on-site childcare centre in a few years’ time. "That way," he added, "My wife can continue working."

Ms Tay Cheng Hoon, HDB’s Head, Staff Welfare & Discipline, said: "Our benefits scheme is like a wide net as we try to balance out to meet everyone's needs."

This appears to be have worked well, given that 90% of HDB’s 8,700 staff are satisfied with the benefits and 65% avail themselves to at least one benefit each year.

As a whole, employers interviewed for this article recognize the pay-offs of family-friendly practices. Many are opting for flexi-schemes to support employee needs in practical ways.

For instance, IBM’s Flexi programme, which is extended to all staff, has something for everyone. Each employee can choose the medical, dental, vacation and spending benefits of his choice to meet his needs of the moment. Hence, an IBM-er with childcare responsibilities can buy up to five days of leave, while a single colleague with heavy work commitments can sell five days of leave.

IBM Singapore’s Human Resource Director Chan Yit Foon said: "We are always mindful of the challenge of attracting the best technology talent in a competitive environment. As such, our human resource policies strive to remove the barriers that prevent people from succeeding at work."

Changi General Hospital's regular part-time staff can choose to work between 21 and 29.5 hours per week, if operations permit. They can even decide their daily work schedules. The hospital’s freelancers enjoy even greater flexibility. They can set their own workweeks and working hours. Over at NTUC Income, workers can opt for flexible starting hours, part-time work (3- or 4-day week or half days), or teleworking.

Electrical distribution company Schneider Electric, on the other hand, awards its employees flex dollars to spend, on a tax-free basis, on a range of benefits including medical expenses, dental care, insurance premiums, childcare centre and child education expenses, holidays and health club subscriptions. Unused flex dollars can be brought forward to the next year.

Initial steps have been taken to grow a family-friendly culture here. A strong community support infrastructure is already in place. There are 26 Family Service Centres in Singapore dedicated to providing quality advisory and family enhancement services. Many voluntary and religious groups also provide family education and support services.

Still, Mr Hon believes that corporate Singapore has some way to go. He said: "The process of educating employers to become partners with families has only just begun."

According to the Work & Family Connection in the US, which focuses its efforts on improving work environments, there are benefits that employers can reap by introducing family friendly work practices. These include:

improved productivity

reduced staff turnover

reduced overheads (e.g. rental of space in the case of virtual offices)

reduced recruitment and training costs

reduced absenteeism, lateness and stress in the workplace

increased ability to attract and retain skilled employees

As Singapore becomes more cosmopolitan, and the advent of the Internet opens up alternative lifestyles and values, the role of employers in making pro-family provisions and helping staff fulfill their multiple roles as breadwinners, parents and caregivers will become more important.

Singaporeans hold families close to their heart and many feel that a happy family is a key part of being successful. Certainly, family friendly practices at the workplace are but a small investment in building the future through strong families.

We spotlight interesting facts and figures and what some companies in Singapore are doing to help their employees balance family and work commitments:

A PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) survey in 1999 found a significant increase in "novelty" career options such as commuter and virtual assignments, trends showing that today’s companies are more flexible in accommodating employees’ family issues.

Executive search firm Korn/Ferry International's technology allows its consultants to "work" abroad with clients and interview overseas candidates using video conferencing and modern communications technology -- without leaving home.

NTUC Income employees can choose to work at a branch office in their home vicinities. NTUC Income has seven branch offices.

IBM Singapore employees who face difficulties having a child can opt for the artificial insemination programme, comprising a range of company-reimbursed non-experimental and medically accepted procedures.

A Raffles Institution pilot Internet learning programme in June 1999 allowed teachers to prepare lessons on the web, which students could access from home.