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30% of Singapore employers intend to provide no wage increases in 2021

A global study of pay increases has found that 30 per cent of employers in Singapore intend to provide no wage increases in 2021. Compared to other countries, Singapore has a more significant percentage.

Based on research done by global consulting firm Korn Ferry recently, around 16 per cent of firms worldwide aim to bypass pay raises completely this year. Across 150 nations, the wage survey gathered data from 25,000 companies.

Korn Ferry reported that roughly 450 organisations in Singapore were part of the survey. Here are some notable global trends:

Wage increases (if any) will be smaller than in past years.
In 2021, more companies are planning stagnant wages than last year.
Organisations are primarily preparing to direct their restricted funds to talent acquisition and invest in those with vital roles.

Less than half planning to give an increase

Image Credits: The Straits Times

Only 46 per cent of the Singapore employers who responded to the survey said they aim to offer a raise to at least 9 out of 10 employees this year. These businesses expect wage rises of 2.1 per cent in actual terms, which is still smaller than the 3.1 per cent pay rise introduced in 2020.

All in all, participants from Singapore are targeting a 2 per cent rise in terms of median incomes. This places Singapore in the lead compared to countries like France (1.3 per cent) and the United kingdom (1.9 per cent). But falling behind all other nations in Asia, except Japan and Hong Kong (both 2 per cent).

Pay raise dependent on inflation

Image Credits: Kelly Services Thailand

The findings showed that workers could also see a greater rise in their actual wages in countries where inflation is especially low. Based on official projections, Singapore’s inflation rate has predictions between -0.5 and 0 per cent for 2020.

Mr Kartikey Singh, a senior client partner at Korn Ferry Singapore, commented that jobs would be mainly contractual, temporary, service-led and technology-driven in a recovering economy.

“While the overall pay increases might look sanguine, talent scarcity for areas like product and application development, cybersecurity in certain sectors like e-commerce, technology and fintech can drive significant pay premiums for these job categories,” said Mr Singh.

He added that such a phenomenon would push companies to practice differential compensation plans for different staff and expertise classes.

Organisations need to focus more on a “total rewards” approach

Image Credits: The Straits Times

Mr Don Lowman, Korn Ferry’s global leader of rewards and benefits, shared that ensuring their employees continue to feel appreciated and commended will be essential for companies in the future.

Such a strategy entails non-financial incentives, like opportunities for professional growth, mentoring and guidance, and providing an energetic workplace culture with productive employee tasks.

“Korn Ferry research has found that while financial rewards are key to attracting talent into organisations, non-financial rewards can be key differentiators in retaining talent,” said the consultancy firm.

Man sentenced to four weeks’ jail after stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers

Aggravated upon knowing that he had not secured any Budget 2020 grocery vouchers, a 47-year-old man stole 60 of the vouchers that were supposed to cover underprivileged Singaporeans’ household costs.

This is not the first time Singapore has seen such cases. Last October, the news reported that more than 20 people were investigated or arrested concerning such thefts.

Took them from unsecured letterboxes

Image Credits: AsiaOne

Alvin Law Choon Huat sieved envelopes from unsecured letterboxes in Marine Terrace housing estates and subsequently used them to purchase groceries and a vacuum cleaner, along with his coupons that eventually reached. The balance of the unused certificates was burned as sacrifices to his late wife.

On Thursday (Jan 7), Law was issued four weeks in prison. He pled guilty to two counts of theft, with two other offences taken into account.

Upset that he did not receive the vouchers

Law, who is unemployed, knew about the voucher availability after hearing about it from social media. The vouchers were allocated for Singaporeans living in one-room and two-room HDB flats. These vulnerable adults who did not own more than one residence could use the coupons to cushion the impact of the pandemic’s economic downturn.

When Law searched his letterbox and saw no incentives, he became angry. He then dug into other mailboxes at Block 51 Marine Terrace. After pursuing letterboxes without fastened flaps or those with broken openings, he collected four victims’ sealed envelopes. Each of which held 15 vouchers priced in S$10 denominations.

Police reported a suspected case of mischief

Suspects were escorted by police officers at the crime scene

Image Credits: SPF

Police reported a possible case of mischief related to stolen vouchers when stumbling upon an open letterbox. Law was then caught red-handed on closed-circuit television recordings.

On Oct 29, 2020, he was apprehended, and the vacuum and two packets of chicken franks obtained with the vouchers were confiscated from his home.

The offender has previous convictions

Law has had prior convictions for theft and blackmail.

The prosecution demanded at least a month in detention, arguing that the voucher scheme’s specific policy goal was to support the disadvantaged. Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim said Law’s crimes resulted in considerable damage to affected people and the state, which has to help fund the voucher costs.

Law, who didn’t have a defence attorney, said that he knew he had committed a wrong and pleaded for leniency. He shared that he has high blood pressure and had a spine operation in 2015, which requires him to consume strong painkillers frequently.

He further explained that he didn’t think he was getting any vouchers. Also, he did not know how to process the stolen vouchers after receiving his own set. He figured that he would be investigated if he had taken them to the authorities.

He also appealed to start serving his sentence after Chinese New Year because his teenage daughter had no guardians, claiming that it was just the two of them in the family. To that, a postponement of his prison sentence to Feb 15 was issued by the court.

Law may have been sentenced to prison for up to three years, fined or both, for each count of theft.

34-year-old man jailed and fined S$1,000 for cheating unlicensed moneylender

What a bizarre event. The news reported that a 34-year-old man who deceived a loan shark by claiming to intimidate debtors but did not fulfil the activities was jailed for 11 days and fined S$1000 on Wednesday (Jan 6).

Muhammad Khairul Ismail pled guilty to one charge of fraud and another of gambling via a smartphone app, with two other offences taken into account for cheating the unlicensed moneylender.

A job offer by the loan shark

The jury heard that in November 2019, Khairul came across a work offer from a loan shark named Lucas. In return for cash, the agreement was for Khairul to lock the gates of Lucas’s debtors.

Khairul approached him intending to make quick cash, despite recognising that Lucas was a money lender. They decided that Khairul would lock Lucas’s debtors’ gates, paste notes on their doors, and send Lucas videos of these activities as evidence.

In return for each job done, Lucas offered to pay amounts of money varying from S$100 to S$120.

Instructions sent to Khairul via WhatsApp

Image Credits: thenextweb.com

Lucas issued instructions via WhatsApp to Khairul in December 2019. He asked Khairul to lock up a borrower’s unit with a chain and paste a sign on the door. As ordered, Khairul headed to the address but had already intended to deceive Lucas by tricking him into thinking that he had completed the harassment.

Khairul secured the gate with two bicycle locks and placed a message on one of the locks to prevent damaging the gate. He then took a video and sent it to Lucas, misguiding him into thinking that the act had taken place.

S$120 was transferred to him by Lucas, but Khairul removed the locks and notice from the gate before fleeing. Khairul replicated this action on two other instances towards Lucas.

Offences came to light after authorities alerted

When Lucas forwarded the footage of the harassment to the debtors, the activities came to light and the police were notified.

Khairul also pleaded guilty to another charge of making bets on a smartphone gaming platform amounting to around S$1,120. For the fraud, the prosecution called for at least two weeks in prison and a penalty of S$1,000 for the gambling offence.

Not an average innocent member of the public

Image Credits: The Straits Times

Deputy Public Prosecutor Krystle Chiang admitted that an unauthorised moneylender and not a regular helpless member of the public was the subject of cheating. However, “this does not absolve the accused of wrongdoing and should not distract from the fact that the accused had sustained wrongful gain by his deception”, she said.

To claim that crimes conducted against those individuals should not be prosecuted will be a dangerous path to take. She added that over the three cheating incidents, Khairul had earned S$340. He was also the one who facilitated conversations with Lucas.

A unique case in its entirety

The court said this trial was a little unusual because Lucas wasn’t ever supposed to have given Khairul the money to carry out loan shark intimidations.

Khairul responded in remorse that he had learnt from his wrongdoing and felt repentant for his actions. He also promised the court that his actions would not be repeated.

For cheating, Khairul could have been fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years in this case.

3 strategies for creating less stressful brainstorm sessions from ex-vice president of innovation and creation at The Walt Disney Company

It’s the first mid-week of 2021. Have you had an awesome start to the first work week of the new year? Or did you just receive a calendar invite titled “brainstorm” from your team leader?

A look at this term can bring about nervousness for some individuals. Especially for those who have been through uncountable brainstorms that have not ended up productive, it’s easy to assume that the next brainstorm will conclude with negligible outcomes.

A great brainstorm needs a strong basis to succeed, much like building a home.

“During my tenure as head of creativity and innovation at Disney, I conducted countless brainstorms. As a result, I developed a series of tools that I now use working with my clients to ensure every brainstorming session I facilitate ends with a handful of truly innovative ideas, which are achievable and your team can eventually execute,” writes Duncan Wardle.

Wardle is the founder of creative consulting company iD8 & innov8 and ex-vice president of innovation and creation at The Walt Disney Company. Let’s learn three strategies for creating less stressful brainstorm sessions from the man himself.

#1: Help your team get into the right state of mind

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Ponder over the word “brainstorm.” To others, with a few ideas jotted on a whiteboard, this may invoke the idea of inefficient and disorganised discussions. It doesn’t signal the right state of mind, which means you’re unlikely to receive the best ideas from your team.

Your actions show your co-workers how to respond in return. You want to trigger a new way of thought by not entitling it as a brainstorm. By modifying your brainstorming session’s name, you can dramatically shift the thought patterns of the people involved before you even begin.

“I ran with this concept while at Disney, where I developed the “ID8” (or “ideate”) room, which later became the name of my company. Everyone stepping foot into the ID8 room knew that they were attending an “expansionist” session, which meant that the meeting was meant to generate and grow ideas,” Wardle shared.

#2: Foster brilliant ideas with the force of “Yes, and…”

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Have you ever met a negative person so much so that the person’s response is always “No, because..”? Such reactions take large thoughts and render them lightweight, ultimately making them meaningless.

But flip it to “yes”, and perhaps it will take you to places. By reacting to suggestions using an open-minded approach, you demonstrate that you listen and prohibits joint discussions from crashing due to a lack of traction.

#3: Your golden key – a “naive expert” out of your department

woman having discussion with her colleagues

Image Credits: unsplash.com

When Wardle was heading brainstorms at Shanghai’s Disneyland for restaurant architecture designs, he searched for a way to inspire his team of Disney Imagineers (mostly males over 50 years old) to begin thinking creatively.

“So, I invited a young Chinese female chef to participate in a session as our “naive expert,” or in other words, an outside individual whose criteria for success were not tied to our team,” he noted.

An ideal “naive expert” is one who has no direct involvement and prior work experience in your department. Thus, such individuals are more likely to pose concerns and suggestions that your squad has never contemplated.

In the wake of the pandemic, we may not often be gathering for in-person discussions and brainstorms. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to hold you back from conducting fruitful sessions! Tap on digital platforms to create an online environment that promotes positive involvement, interaction, and teamwork to develop fresh ideas.

Good luck!

A new charitable organisation to be founded and named after late opposition party leader JB Jeyaretnam

Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, son of the late opposition party leader JB Jeyaretnam, revealed on Tuesday (Jan 5) that a new charity will be set up in his late father’s name. His father was the creator of the Reform Party and former chief of the Workers’ Party.

In a press release, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, the Reform Party secretary-general, said that the new JB Jeyaretnam Foundation would alleviate poverty among oppressed communities. It was an area close to the heart of JB Jeyaretnam.

A glance at the late JB Jeyaretnam’s life

JB Jeyaretnam was the first opposition party candidate to be nominated Member of Parliament during a by-election for the Anson constituency in 1981. At the time, he was also a professional attorney and the secretary-general of the Workers’ Party.

He was repeatedly sued by People’s Action Party (PAP) officials for his relentless critiques of the government. Eventually, he became bankrupt via court proceedings.

In 2001, due to bankruptcy, he was forbidden from engaging in elections. Later, he was released from bankruptcy in 2007 and founded the Reform Party in 2008. Subsequently, at the age of 82, he died of heart failure in the same year.

Second charity to be set up after a veteran opposition icon

Image Credits: todayonline.com

After a prominent opposition figure, the charity which has to be accepted by the government is the second to be established. The first is the Chiam See Tong Sports Fund created in 2017 to help disabled athletes. It was set up by Mr Chiam See Tong, former head of the Singapore People’s Party.

Charity will support the older generation and more

Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam mentioned that the initiative would help the aged, the homeless, and students from families in hardship.

The aim is to support them by allowing them access to amenities or resources and removing or reducing poverty’s drawbacks. Students from low-income families can be offered assistance through free or low-cost tuition, and not just by cash or food staples.

“However, we are still at a very early stage and one of our first official activities will be to conduct research and an audit of (clients’) needs,” he added.

A significant announcement on his father’s birthday

Image Credits: The Straits Times

The news of the proposed charity drops on the date of Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s father’s birthday. “Though he can no longer be with us, his legacy lives on to be preserved for future generations,” he commented.

As soon as it is registered, fundraising will commence for the charity. Amid the pandemic, though some donations for charities had plummeted, he decided to launch the foundation this year. This is because more people are suffering and the need for charity support is considerably higher than before.

“Despite the pandemic, I decided to coincide this announcement with JBJ’s (JB Jeyaretnam) birthday this year and not to delay any longer. We are all very excited and looking forward to getting to work for our communities,” Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam remarked.

Anyone curious to know more about the charity or plan to donate in the future can contact them at [email protected].