Singapore’s Workforce Rewrites Career Playbook
New insights from global payroll and HR platform Deel reveal five trends that will shape how employees in Singapore think, work, and make career decisions in 2026 – signalling a profound reset for employers navigating talent retention, workplace design, and compensation strategy.
Singapore is seeing a marked slowdown in job hopping as employees choose to stay put in their current roles. This emerging behaviour – dubbed «job hugging» – is driven not by loyalty but by caution, career platform Deel writes in a report issued on Monday.
In an uncertain economic climate, workers increasingly favour predictability over rapid advancement, fundamentally shifting how ambition and career stability are weighed.
Emotional Salary Becomes a Core Incentive
As traditional pay packages strain under inflation and tighter budgets, employers are turning to «emotional salary» to attract and retain talent. This includes recognition, autonomy, purpose, flexibility, and personal development.
Data underscores the trend: 13 percent of employees say their pay has kept pace with inflation; 79 percent want more flexible pay cycles; and 54 percent want greater control over compensation structure.
These preferences point to a workforce that values emotional and financial well-being as much as monetary pay.
Microshifting Reshapes the Workday
The standard 9-to-5 is evolving into a more fluid model. «Microshifting» allows employees to break their day into shorter, focused bursts of work aligned with personal energy levels and life demands –from caregiving to exercise to essential rest.
The result is a more adaptable, productivity-driven work rhythm that reflects modern expectations of flexibility.
Conscious Unbossing Challenges Traditional Leadership
With «conscious unbossing», employees – especially Gen Z – are intentionally stepping away from management tracks in pursuit of balance, autonomy and wellbeing.
This trend is forcing employers to rethink leadership pipelines as fewer workers aspire to climb the hierarchy, challenging long-held assumptions about advancement and succession.
LinkedIn Envy Highlights Rising Career Pressure
The polished success stories flooding professional networks are fuelling «LinkedIn envy», where employees struggle with feelings of inadequacy amid constant comparison.
As career milestones become increasingly visible online, the emotional pressure intensifies – reminding employers that psychological wellbeing is now closely intertwined with career satisfaction.
New Talent Landscape for 2026
Together, these trends reflect a workforce redefining success and reshaping expectations for employers. The opportunity for organisations lies in adapting to these shifting priorities by strengthening emotional and financial support, modernising payroll, and building employee experience from the ground up.
«In Singapore, the traditional career script is being rewritten as employees navigate not just economic headwinds, but also shifting personal priorities», said Karen Ng, Regional Head of Expansion, Enterprise, North and South Asia at Deel.
Hug Current Roles
«We are seeing more people ‘hug’ their current roles, not out of inertia, but from a desire for stability. When staff feel both financially secure and emotionally supported, they are not only more likely to stay, but also to contribute meaningfully to organisational growth,» she added.
