Low pay, emotionally draining, limited career growth: Social service sector continues facing stereotypes

SINGAPORE: Despite a move to increase wages for the social service sector next month, organisations say it may still not be enough to attract fresh manpower.

Salaries of workers in the sector will be raised by between 4 per cent and 15 per cent from Apr 1 to help retain existing talent, Minister for Social and Family Services Masagos Zulkifli announced recently.

However, industry players say the industry still faces stereotypes as one that is not good for long-term employment, due to factors such as a lack of opportunities for career development.

HIGH TURNOVER RATE

The turnover rate at non-profit organisation Dementia Singapore has inched up slightly in the past few years, from 14 per cent in 2021 to 16 per cent last year.

Over the past year, six in 10 staff who left were front-liners who conducted sing-along sessions and craft lessons for dementia patients. This has prevented the scaling up of the charity’s hands-on activities.

The attrition could be largely due to the rising cost of living, which may have driven some of their employees to look towards better paying sectors, according to the organisation.

Dementia Singapore's chief human resources officer Tracy Kwan said former employees have gone on to work in banks and finance firms. It has been difficult to hire replacements, with job applications falling 30 per cent over the past six months.

"One very common stigma is that the job could be very emotionally and physically draining. Two, the jobs are also probably not paying well,” said Ms Kwan.

“And third, people view that there's probably little career progression within this sector."

However, Ms Mary-Ann Khoo, a consultant at Dementia Singapore, said that is not the case, as she feels she is still growing both personally and professionally after 13 years in the sector.

She noted that a misconception is that the social service sector is all about charity work. 

"It helps that increasingly, there is a lot of talk of professionalism in the sector and I really appreciate that, because I've really come across partners and colleagues and staff who are very committed and innovative in the work that we do, because we're actually tasked to do a lot of impactful work with limited resources,” she said.

ATTRACTING MANPOWER

National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) assistant manager for community matters Anil Kiran Nair said clear career pathways would be something that attracts other young people like himself.

The 34-year-old added that he has gained a stronger sense of purpose in his role over the last two years.

"I think there's a lot of misconceptions around joining an organisation like NVPC. People seem to think that there's not a lot of opportunities for growth and learning,” he said.

“But since coming to NVPC, there have been multiple opportunities to actively contribute to sector-level conversations and deal with leaders from the 3P space – people, private and public spaces – which I think I might otherwise have not been able to do without joining NVPC."

The NVPC is looking at other ways to attract and retain talent, including flexible work arrangements and additional paid leave for loyal employees.

Attrition rates have been lower since these were implemented last year, according to Ms Amy Teo, the centre’s director of people and corporate services.

"We try to create an engaging and meaningful experience for our employees to allow them to focus on why they love their job at NVPC."