Singapore employers trust young staff to get the job done without hovering over them, but that trust isn’t translating into feeling valued or understood, according to new research commissioned by Deel, the global HR and payroll platform.
Key Takeaways
- 82% of Singapore workers aged 18-29 feel trusted to work without micromanagement, yet 47% believe leaders see their generation as entitled and lazy
- Under-30s’ share of Singapore’s workforce has fallen from 18.8% in 2014 to 14.6% in 2024, and one in five young workers see moving overseas as a 10-year goal
- Just 13% of young workers say their AI use at work is monitored, even though 49% say AI makes them more productive
The study, “What Gen Z Workers Want 2026 – Singapore”, surveyed 1,045 working adults aged 18 to 29 with YouGov and ThinkerTank between 13 and 25 August. It found 82% feel trusted to work without being micromanaged. But 71% also feel expected to be grateful simply for having a job, and almost half, 47%, believe their leaders see their generation as entitled and lazy.
Singapore Gen Z workers want boundaries, not applause
The gap shows up most clearly around hours. Only 27% of respondents say they are giving everything to get ahead in their current role. The largest group, 29%, say they would rather do the job well within the hours they’re paid for. Almost half, 49%, list having a job they can leave at the office among their goals for the next ten years.
Pay that keeps up with the cost of living is the top job priority, named in the top three by 72% of respondents, ahead of flexibility (51%) and learning and development (49%). Job security comes fourth, at 46%.
Side hustles and an exit option
Three-quarters of young Singaporeans, 77%, already have a second source of income or are looking for one. 42% hold a side hustle on top of their main job — more common among young men (48%, against 34% of young women) and among young parents (53%, against 38% of those without children).
The numbers come against a shrinking young workforce. Residents under 30 made up 18.8% of Singapore’s labour force in 2014; by 2024 that had dropped to 14.6%. 21% of young workers say working in another country is a goal for the next decade — a figure that, if it plays out, would cost Singapore roughly a fifth of its youngest workers.
AI use is outrunning employer oversight
Nearly half of Singapore’s Gen Z workers, 49%, say AI makes them more productive — well ahead of the 33% recorded among Australian counterparts in the same research series. But use is spreading faster than any policy around it. 33% use AI on personal devices for work tasks, 19% say they use it more than their employer knows, and only 13% say their AI use is actually monitored. Worry about becoming too dependent on AI (29%) now outpaces worry about AI threatening job security (26%).
“Gen Z is ambitious, just not by traditional measures. They deliver through technology and autonomy, yet workplaces interpret boundaries as laziness. That contradiction is a retention crisis. Young people have global options now. As Singapore’s talent pool shrinks, employers cannot assume loyalty will follow from employment alone. Organisations must support their independence with clear expectations and practical guardrails. Commitment should be judged by contribution, not hours. That is how organisations retain and nurture their talent,” said Karen Ng, Regional Head of Expansion & Market Lead for Singapore, Hong Kong, ASEAN, and India at Deel.
The research also points to a gender split within the same generation. Half of young women worry about burnout, against 43% of men, and only 19% of women say they are giving everything to get ahead, against 34% of men. Women are also more likely to feel trapped in their current role (39% versus 29%) and more likely to say they’re ready to leave (29% versus 19%).
