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Recent findings show that employees under the age of 35 are working in conditions that foster lower engagement and wellbeing and induce greater levels of stress for them, compared to their older counterparts.
A new Gallup report, the Singapore Workplace Report 2026, has found a marked generational gap in engagement and daily wellbeing: employees under 35 in Singapore are noticeably less engaged and report higher levels of daily stress than older colleagues.
Globally, the engagement gap between under‑35s and those 35 and over is small (19% vs 21%), but Singapore’s divide is wider.
Similarly, while 42% of under‑35s worldwide reported daily stress compared with 40% of older workers, Singapore’s younger cohort is markedly more affected (53% vs 37%).
But what explains this pattern? Conversations with 16 senior leaders interviewed for the report pointed to workplace conditions and broader economic pressures, rather than a simple difference in willingness to work.
Structural and economic pressures
Many leaders framed younger employees’ expectations as responses to structural realities rather than personal shortcomings. Factors that weigh more heavily on younger workers include high living costs, compulsory national service, growing job and career uncertainty, and shifting definitions of success.
Workplace practices that don’t fit younger workers
Gallup’s qualitative interviews also highlighted that organisations often lag in adapting practices for younger cohorts. On the survey item asking whether organisations have adapted practices for younger employees, leaders gave a mean score of 3.25 — indicating most leaders interviewed believe their organisations likely make minimal efforts to ensure workplace practices help younger employees work effectively.
Myth vs. reality: the "strawberry generation"
According to the findings, public discussion in Singapore too often relies on reductive stereotypes of younger workers — casting late millennials and Gen Z as entitled, fragile, or insufficiently committed to their employers and careers. Labels such as the "strawberry generation" suggest they cannot cope with life and work pressures, but the reality is more nuanced.
In fact, the generational split is real, but its drivers are more about conditions and opportunities than character. Younger employees are reacting to the environment they face; employers must respond accordingly.
Three key categories that make up a "good job"
As Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Manpower, shared during his keynote address at the launch of the report on 22 June 2026, work is more than just earning a living. It is what shapes one's wellbeing, aspirations and sense of purpose.
"A good job, therefore, is one that supports our workforce in achieving its full potential and its purpose."
He outlined three broad elements of a “good job”:
- First, how the organisation treats its workers. This can be reflected by providing fair wages, benefits and other key terms of employment, and ensuring that the workplace is adequate for the work that the workers are expected to do.
- Second, empowering workers to do their jobs well and investing in workers’ development.
- Lastly, a good workplace relationship with supervisors, colleagues and teams, which again strengthens the sense of belonging, ownership and purpose within the firms.
"Having these conditions will allow our workers to feel engaged, valued and supported," MOS Dinesh said.
He also noted that, while 40% of employees surveyed in Singapore rate their lives positively (above regional and global averages), only 14% report being engaged at work — posing the urgent question: how can employers build engagement?
To that effect, he shared a practical roadmap for an engaged workforce that he believes will benefit all parties:
- For workers, engagement brings about a deeper sense of purpose and greater resilience through changes over the course of their career.
- For employers, an engaged workforce translates into productivity, talent retention, and organisations that are better placed to adapt and innovate.
- For Singapore, an engaged workforce accrues to a powerful engine of sustained economic growth and, most importantly, social cohesion.
In order to achieve the above, MOS Dinesh added Singapore's tripartite partners are continuing to focus on three priorities: strengthen workplace protections and worker protection, recognising and elevating good human capital practices, and preparing companies and workforces for an AI-enabled future.
Concluding his speech, he said:
"All of us have a role to play in ensuring that this is possible, not only for our workers, but to ensure that Singapore continues to thrive and remains competitive in a changing world, a shining red dot in this part of the world."
READ MORE: AI, burnout, and a shrinking talent pool: What 2025 taught us about the future workplace
Lead image & infographics / Gallup
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