NTUC LearningHub – Singapore’s leading Continuing Education and Training provider – recently released their Workforce Learning in Workplace Transformation (WLWT) Report. This is a survey of 150 business leaders and 300 employees across various industries and interviews with HR experts in Singapore.
The WLWT report revealed that 53% of employees experience online fatigue, making participation in training programmes difficult. This is especially true for employees in work-from-home arrangements. Employers have also reported that online fatigue is putting a damper on their training efforts.
The survey found that employees aged 30 to 39 are the most likely to experience online fatigue (63%), followed by those aged 16 to 29 (59%) and 40 to 54 (48%). Employees above 55 years old are the least likely to experience online fatigue (41%).
Many employers observed that remote workplace arrangements were disruptive to implement effective employee training (39%), and COVID-19 restrictions remain a challenge (37%). Most employers (78%) revealed that their companies are planning to improve training programmes to better adapt to the transformed workplace.
Employers are exploring new training methods to meet challenges posed by WFH or remote working arrangements and increase employee engagement. Three methods cited were:
- ‘Change the training approach to adapt to remote learning’ (50%),
- ‘Try out more innovative methods of training’ (47%)
- ‘Adapt new technology platforms’ (39%).
The report also revealed that two-thirds of employees (68%) preferred to attend company-provided instructor-led programmes, regardless of whether it’s face-to-face (37%) or virtually (31%). This is in comparison to only 6% that voted for pre-recorded online training programmes as a preferred mode of learning.
NTUC LearningHub Strategy Director Soh Hooi Peng remarked on these findings, “As COVID-19 hits its second-year mark, online fatigue is becoming a prominent problem that causes burnout in employees, thereby posing a challenge not only to their work but also their learning and development. To combat this, learning must evolve alongside the future of work. We must explore and constantly develop new modes of training delivery to develop and engage the workforce. At NTUC LHUB, we will continue to work with companies to explore adult learning trends in order to transform the learning experience of lifelong learners to keep them motivated in terms of continuous learning and upskilling.”
