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Health Promotion Board scales up health initiative for gig economy workers

Initiative aims to bring meaningful health programmes to 20,000 gig economy workers and other self-employed persons by 2024, to enable them to take better charge of their physical and mental well-being

Singapore, 30 September 2022 – The Health Promotion Board (HPB) is scaling up a workplace health initiative it has piloted, to provide the gig economy workforce and other self-employed persons¹ with access to health programmes that equip these workers with knowledge and skills to improve their physical and mental well-being. The initiative aims to bring meaningful health programmes to 20,000 workers in this segment by 2024. This is part of the Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Safety and Health’s efforts to extend health and safety programmes to priority sectors with higher proportions of mature workers aged 40 and above.

A Growing Priority Segment
The number of self-employed persons has risen in the last few years². Slightly over 70% were aged 40 and above, and those in this age group are generally at a higher risk of developing chronic health conditions as they age.

Together with partners such as ComfortDelgro, foodpanda, Grab and NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (U FSE), HPB offers workplace health programmes to gig workers and self-employed persons who are registered with these companies. They comprise largely taxi and private-hire vehicle drivers, delivery riders, private tutors and sports and fitness instructors.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health, and Co-Chairperson of the Tripartite Oversight Committee, said: “Many self-employed persons, such as the gig workers, have irregular work patterns and do not have a fixed or centralised worksite, and have little or no access to company-based health programmes. We have therefore rallied unions, platform operators and companies to work with us to identify touch points where we can provide these workers with access to relevant health programmes that cater to their needs and help them to take charge of their well-being.”

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Ministry of Manpower, and Co-Chairperson of the Tripartite Oversight Committee, said: “Self-employed persons contribute significantly to our economy. Many of these workers are at higher risk of chronic health conditions, and we want to do more to improve their health. As these workers take better charge of their health, they will be able to work for as long as they wish. We also urge more partners to come on board to support the well-being of these workers.”

Providing Accessible and Customised Programmes
The initiative has been developed to meet the health needs of the gig workforce and other self-employed persons and support them in staying healthy. It includes health screening for chronic diseases, customised follow-up health coaching sessions with practical bite-sized tips on topics such as nutrition, physical activity and mental well-being. Physical activity sessions and mental well-being workshops are also offered under the initiative. Through these programmes, participants can acquire useful tips for their physical and mental well-being that they can practise in their own time, such as muscle conditioning and stretching exercises, or relaxation and stress-coping techniques to manage negative emotions when feeling distressed at work. The programmes are also conducted in a mix of virtual and on-site modalities to offer accessibility and flexibility. Participants are also onboarded to HPB’s programmes such as National Steps Challenge and Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge, to help sustain their healthier lifestyle. (Refer to Annex A for programme details.)

Beyond encouraging participation among the workers, the unions and companies partnering HPB also provide their premises and digital platforms to facilitate the conduct of these programmes. For example, health screening and coaching sessions and mental well-being workshops are organised at Grab’s Service Centre for the convenience of Grab’s private-hire car drivers and food delivery riders when they visit the centre for work-related matters. Where on-site intervention is not feasible, other modes of engagement are adopted, such as tele-health coaching and the use of virtual platforms to conduct the programmes. The programmes are typically organised during lull periods of the day when these workers have fewer job assignments.

The health initiative started in 2019 and 13,000 workers have since participated in the programmes as of August 2022. About 70% of surveyed participants who attended the mental well-being talks and workshops also indicated having gained more knowledge and learnt new skills to better care for themselves and improve their well-being.

Scaling Up to Reach More Workers
Riding on the encouraging outcomes from the pilot, HPB is expanding its touch points, with an aim to bring the workplace health programmes to 20,000 gig workers and other self-employed persons by 2024.

HPB will be deepening collaborations with existing partners and expanding its partnership network, including working with e-commerce companies who are widely connected to freelance online merchants, as well as working with NTUC and its affiliated trade associations representing different professions, to encourage participation among gig workers in different jobs. A collaboration with foodpanda to develop a
microsite on its rider engagement portal is also underway, to complement existing health screening sessions, follow-up phone coaching and physical activity classes offered to foodpanda’s delivery riders. The microsite will enable the riders to access health information relevant to their work nature, at their own time and convenience.

The workers, such as delivery riders, can also look forward to learning about suitable ergonomic topics such as proper carrying techniques, which will be incorporated into the health coaching programme to help these workers learn how to better manage the physical requirements of their work and take charge of their health and well-being.

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About the Health Promotion Board

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) was established as a statutory board under the Ministry of Health, Singapore, in 2001 with the vision of building “A Nation of Healthy People”. HPB aims to empower Singaporeans to attain optimal health, increase the quality and years of healthy life and prevent illness, disability and premature death. As the key agency overseeing national health promotion and disease prevention programmes, HPB spearheads health education, promotion and prevention programmes as well as creates a health-supportive environment in Singapore. It develops and organises health promotion and disease prevention programmes, reaching out to the healthy, the at-risk and the unhealthy at all stages of life – children, youths, adults and older Singapore residents. Its health promotion initiatives cover nutrition, physical activity, mental well-being, health screening, tobacco control and communicable disease education.

More information can be found at www.hpb.gov.sg.

About the Workplace Safety and Health Council

Established on 1 April 2008, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council comprises leaders appointed from major industry sectors (including construction, manufacturing, marine industries, petrochemicals, and logistics), government, unions, employers as well as professionals from the legal, insurance and academic fields. The Council works closely with the Ministry of Manpower and other government agencies, the tripartite partners, the industry, and professional associations to develop strategies to raise WSH standards in Singapore. The Council's main functions are to build industry capabilities to better manage WSH; promote safety and health at work; recognise companies with good WSH records; and set acceptable WSH practices.

About the Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Safety and Health (2021-2024)

The Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Health was formed in 2014, with the ultimate objective to promote wellbeing of workers through interventions at the workplace, by adopting a holistic approach that focuses on workers’ health and wellness, and increases the reach and penetration of workplace health promotion.

The first term (2014-2017) concluded in July 2017. At the end of the second term, over 853,000 have been provided access to customised and holistic health and safety programmes, at their workplaces. The third-term Tripartite Oversight Committee on Workplace Safety and Health (2021-2024) convened in June 2021. Led by co-chairs Dr. Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State (Health) and Mr Zaqy Mohamad,
Senior Minister of State (Manpower), the Tripartite Oversight Committee comprises representatives from the public and private sectors to drive and implement workplace health and safety initiatives at the national level. It consists of senior representatives from the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Health Promotion Board (HPB), Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC), partners and relevant stakeholders.

Three sub-committees look into developing and promoting Total Workplace Safety and Health initiatives in high-risk industries; enhancing and sustaining implementation of holistic safety and health initiatives at office, business and industrial clusters; as well as enhancing and sustaining targeted interventions for mature workers in key priority sectors.

Annex A

Programme	Description
Health Screening	Health screening sessions conducted under HPB’s workplace health initiative for the gig economy workers and other self-employed persons, comprise body mass index (height and weight), and blood pressure measurements, and blood test for high cholesterol and high blood glucose levels. Health coaching is provided to each participant post-screening, and a follow-up assessment is conducted six to nine months thereafter for the individual to monitor his/her health status.
Health Coaching	Based on the health screening results, HPB’s health coaches will follow up with each participant to advise them on suitable healthier lifestyle practices through bite-sized health tips that participants can adopt in their daily routines to manage their health conditions. The health coaching topics include: Nutrition (e.g. how to make healthier food choices even when on the move during work) Physical activity (e.g. how private vehicle drivers who tend to be driving most of their time can work towards the recommended physical activity levels and duration each week, and types of activities that suit their work nature, including muscles/bones/joints strengthening exercises) Mental well-being and stress management (e.g. sharing information and resources on mental well-being that are relevant to mindfulness, managing emotions or building resilience). Health coaching sessions are conducted in different modes – on-site, virtually or by phone – for flexibility and accessibility to the workers.
Mental Well-being Experiential Workshops	The workshops focus on imparting stress management knowledge and coping skills for gig workers and other self-employed persons to better manage any stress arising from work and daily life. These include relaxation techniques and stress-coping techniques to manage negative emotions and reach out for support when feeling distressed at work. The workshops are delivered through interactive, hands-on activities such as terrarium building, leather crafting and tote bag painting, where useful tips are incorporated as part of the activities. Through the workshops, participants learn about managing stress by being focused and engaged in a therapeutic activity, being resilient by overcoming challenges and setbacks during a crafting process, using coping skills such as mindfulness and patience to manage demanding work situations beyond their control (e.g. coping with negative feelings due to long wait times when picking up a food order for delivery or when experiencing delays due to bad weather).
Physical Activity Sessions	Physical activity classes are conducted to encourage the workers to keep active and meet the recommendations in the Singapore Physical Activity Guidelines. Conducted by certified instructors, the activities range from strength training to stretching exercises, to enable the workers to maintain or improve their aerobic fitness, muscle strength, bone strength, balance and flexibility. To help the workers manage physical tension arising from stress in their day-to-day work, simple muscle relaxation techniques and deep breathing exercises are taught during the sessions, so that they are able to practise the techniques to reduce their stress and anxiety whenever needed. Classes are organised through on-site or virtual platforms.

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¹ Refers to ‘own account workers’ who operate their own trade or business without hiring any paid employees. It does not include other self-employed categories such as employers and contributing family workers.
² Data are based on persons who did own account work. In 2021, about 201,800 residents were regularly doing own account work as their main job and livelihood, up from 174,800 in 2019. Source: Report on Labour Force in Singapore, Ministry of Manpower.