Industry Leaders Foster Compassion at the Workplace to Better Support Employees in Need

Compassion at the workplace goes a long way towards making a difference in the work life of each employee. Industry leaders are well-positioned to inspire a culture of care in their businesses and communities.

While not desirable, unexpected misfortunes can happen to any employee at any point in time. Whether it is personal or family hardship — the demise of a loved one, sudden illness or an unfortunate accident — one’s life can take an unintended turn very quickly.

Timely help offered by employers at the workplace can help towards alleviating the problems that employees face and provide them with a pillar of support before the situation spirals downwards and affects their morale at work.

According to an article by McKinsey, compassionate leaders tend to perform better. These leaders inspire more loyalty and engagement from employees, resulting in a more committed and united workforce to better address the challenges ahead.

Catalyst leaders pave the way

Demonstrating empathy and compassion are even more critical in times of crisis to ensure that employees feel cared for. It is important to have compassionate leaders in our midst to lead their respective members and industries to galvanise and bring people together to support a common goal.

To this end, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Foundation initiated and launched its industry-led Compassion Fund to catalyse leadership and rally trade associations and companies to care for their employees. In a similar way to how businesses can contribute back to society by doing their part in supporting social communities, the Fund champions employers to support employees in need within the industry.

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman of the SBF Foundation, said, “This is our inaugural effort to rally SBF members and industry leaders to care for our employees, workers, and the community at large. We aim to have the SBF Foundation Compassion Fund form the framework for our members to pool resources and collectively support employees in need. I am grateful to our industry leaders for their support.”

Showing care and solidarity across all industries

Since its launch, seven industry leaders from the various Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) have taken the lead to set up their respective Compassion Fund. These are the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), Security Association Singapore (SAS), Singapore Furniture Association (SFA), Association of Certified Security Agencies (ACSA), Singapore Cocktail Bar Association (SCBA), and The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc).

By leveraging their extensive professional networks and partners, TACs can collectively encourage and inspire their members to act with a strong show of solidarity and care.

Expressing his support for the Fund, Mr Gregory Vijayendran, President of the Law Society in Singapore, said, “A fund like this recognises that our employees are a valuable part of the ecosystem and that we need to look after our employees who are in need.”

Mr Lim Chiao, President of the Singapore Furniture Association, added, “We see this as an extension of our other efforts to help our members, and also to create a business community that helps each other.”

Galvanising networks for better support

As the social impact arm of SBF, the SBF Foundation plays the role in galvanising the business community to amplify inclusion and impact for a resilient Singapore. As a steadfast believer in putting people at the heart of businesses, the Foundation’s commitment to advocate for a compassionate and proactive business community can lead to a more sustainable and resilient socio-economic landscape in Singapore. It aims to help the Singapore business community give back to society by creating a platform for businesses that care for their workforce and the community.

SBF Foundation encourages industry leaders to galvanise their networks and show solidarity with employees by participating in the Industry-Led Compassion Fund. For more information on the Fund and how to better supports your members, please visit SBF Foundation Compassion Fund or email us at [email protected].