A new Singapore Workplace report 2026 shows that the country ranks among the lowest in Southeast Asia when it comes to employment with just 14% of employees engaged at work, even as it plans for an AI-driven economic transition.
Singapore’s inaugural Workplace Report 2026 was released jointly by Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and Gallup on Monday with Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Manpower.
With just 14 per cent of Singapore’s employees engaged at work, a significant proportion of the local workforce is present but not fully invested. This is well below the global average of 20 per cent, and among the lowest in Southeast Asia. For a country built on human capital, this represents a significant opportunity for growth and competitiveness,” read a statement from SID.
The report found that only 10 per cent of workers under 35 are engaged in their jobs, compared with 16 per cent of employees aged 35 and above in Singapore. Overall, workplace engagement in Singapore remains at 14 per cent, unchanged since 2019 and below both the South East Asian average of 25 per cent and the global average of 20 per cent.
According to research conducted by the National University of Singapore Business School (NUSBS), disengaged employees are at least twice as likely to be experiencing stress from day-to-day activities and three times as likely to report feeling angry in comparison to engaged workers.
The report comes amid Singapore government’s push for an “AI-led growth without jobless growth”, focusing on the broader adoption of AI into workforce, while simultaneously training employees to turn “AI-bilingual.”
According to a 2024 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Selected Issues Paper on Singapore’s labor market estimates that about 77% employees are highly exposed to Artificial Intelligence. The percentage is well above the 60% rate the IMF estimates for advanced economies on average, and far higher than 40% for emerging markets and 26% for low-income countries. IMF working paper on AI and the future of work in Asia.
Recently Singapore PM Lawrence Wong emphasized on the importance of an inclusive AI adoption and gave the clarion call of “no jobless growth” in the parliament.
The Singapore government is aiming for a broader national push for an AI-driven economic change that includes setting up of a National AI Council, national AI missions across four sectors of advanced manufacturing, connectivity and logistics, finance, and healthcare.
On this occasion, Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Manpower, pointed out that Singapore’s overall employee well-being ranking is still relatively high, even though there are lower levels of employee engagement. The Minister spoke about how over 40% of the employees surveyed rated their life positively, which places them well above both regional and global averages.
The business leaders interviewed as part of this research found that many companies are investing heavily in training and development of technical skill sets, but investing very little in either developing the managers of potential future managers. As a result, the participants pointed out that while managers are often rewarded for performing as an individual, they are not usually rewarded for leading their teams effectively.
While there appears to be a general consensus among the business leaders surveyed that artificial intelligence (AI) is beneficial to their organisations, they also expressed concern about whether or not employees will be able to adapt and develop to changes as the world becomes more reliant on technology.
Participants expressed concern that those entering the workforce today are less likely to receive traditional training to learn how to be successful because of the prevalence of automated processes replacing the need for entry-level workers.
Also Read: Singapore’s AI Bet: Growth Without “Jobless Growth”
