parenting

SINGAPORE – When children in MOE Kindergarten @ Springdale encounter a problem, they reflect on it to determine if it is a small, medium or big one.

They have learnt that small problems can often be solved independently; medium ones may require some assistance from peers or adults; and big problems need the involvement of an adult to ensure safety.

This “Size of the Problem” concept aims to help children develop problem-solving skills, says its centre head, Madam Nur Hidayah Jamari.

“For a small problem, like not wanting to share a toy, children are encouraged to talk to their friends and negotiate taking turns,” she says.

For a medium problem, such as a peer using unkind words multiple times, children can express their feelings using phrases such as “stop, I don’t like it.”

For a big problem, such as witnessing unsafe behaviour like climbing furniture, children are taught to seek help from an adult immediately, she adds.

Teachers teach this concept through stories and provide opportunities for children to practise their problem-solving skills.

“By supporting them to reflect on their problems, children make better choices when situations occur,” she says.

1. Creative problem-solving

Why it is important

Being able to think of creative ways to solve a problem helps children approach challenges with confidence, says Madam Hidayah.

Children encounter problems daily, from resolving conflicts to tackling challenging tasks.

If parents start nurturing their children’s ability to solve problems creatively from a young age, it empowers them to think independently and make informed decisions, says Madam Hidayah.

“This skill enhances their ability to collaborate effectively and adapt to different situations,” she adds.

Children will be able to analyse situations, generate multiple solutions and evaluate the best course of action, she adds. “These skills are transferable and will benefit children throughout their lives, whether they are working on a group project, resolving conflicts or navigating their careers as adults.”

Help your child develop it 

Encourage your child to think of multiple solutions when he or she encounters a problem by asking open-ended questions, suggests Madam Hidayah.

For example, parents can ask questions such as “what do you think we can do about this?” or “can you come up with another way to solve this problem?”

Parents can also lead by example, by verbalising their thought process when addressing everyday challenges.

Another way is to reinforce the importance of collaboration by engaging in group activities that require teamwork and shared decision-making.

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2. Positive attitude towards learning

Why it is important

A positive learning attitude is made up of 3Ps: perspiration (effort), patience and perseverance, says Mrs Sharon Siew, principal of Jing Shan Primary School.

With these qualities, children will have an advantage in learning. They will be more motivated to understand and master new concepts, and be more likely to explore topics of interest, says the principal of 17 years.

There are also benefits in non-academic areas. Children with a positive learning mindset will be curious about the world and have empathy, says Mrs Siew.

The young ones, having gained awareness of real-world issues, such as environmental conservation, may be inspired to serve the community, she adds.

Help your child develop it

Children learn by observing their parents, so parents can show enthusiasm for learning; and patience and persistence when solving problems, says Mrs Siew.

To emphasise that effort is important, encourage a child to tackle challenges with determination from a young age, such as not giving up when working on a puzzle.

When a child struggles, remind him that persistence is key to success, she adds.

Parents can say something like this: “Remember how long it took you to ride your bicycle? You kept trying and now you’re great at it.”

Parents can also share with their child the mistakes they made and how they tried again and did better.

3. Resilience

Why it is important

Life will not always be a bed of roses. So, when a child is faced with a setback – for instance, disappointment over examination results – one who is resilient will be able to view the disappointment as a way to grow.

Contrast this with a less resilient child, who may see the results as a reflection of his ability, and adopt a pessimistic attitude, says Ms Jana Dawson, deputy chief executive of The School of Positive Psychology.

Ms Dawson says resilience is critical for children’s long-term well-being as it helps them to handle setbacks in a constructive way.

This helps them adapt when things do not go as planned.

Resilience fosters a mindset of improvement over perfection.

“For example, in situations like disappointment over results, resilience enables children to process their emotions, understand the value of effort over outcomes, and stay optimistic about the future,” she says.

With this skill, children are less likely to internalise setbacks as failures and come to recognise that their potential and worth are not defined by any single result.

They are better able to manage stress, adapt to changes and remain hopeful.

“Ultimately, resilience supports their mental health, enhances their sense of control and empowers them to approach life with courage,” says Ms Dawson.

Help your child develop it 

When a child encounters challenges, parents can help him consider alternative viewpoints by asking questions like: “Is there another way to see this?”

If a child responds with, “I’m not good at anything”, parents can guide him to reflect on his strengths in other areas, acknowledging the difficulty of the current task.

Viewing situations differently helps a child broaden his thinking and challenge assumptions.

Parents can help their child identify and develop his strengths. One way is through the Values in Action (VIA) survey by non-profit organisation VIA Institute on Character that can be found on its website.

Another way is to teach a child the importance of taking breaks, exercising and socialising.

Parents can also help the young one find daily “slices of joy”. This includes activities that make him feel positive and refreshed, such as hobbies or spending time with loved ones.

Regularly including moments of joy helps maintain emotional balance.

“Normalising failures and hardships as growth opportunities is key to resilience,” says Ms Dawson.

Encourage children to think of multiple solutions when they encounter a problem by asking open-ended questions. PHOTO: MOE KINDERGARTEN @ SPRINGDALE

4. Confidence

Why it is important

One of the key traits children need to thrive in modern society is confidence and the ensuing self-esteem, says Dr Mercy Karuniah Jesuvadian, a senior lecturer in psychology and child and human development from the National Institute of Education.

Confident children can communicate their thoughts and feelings to venture out of comfort zones, which is key to creativity and innovation, she adds.

“Without confidence, a child cannot fully participate as an equal member in his peer groups or problem-solve,” says Dr Jesuvadian.

Help your child develop it 

It could start with something as simple as letting a child share his thoughts on people, events and happenings freely.

Dr Jesuvadian encourages parents to get their child to share his opinions with people other than familiar adults.

Teach the child how to ask questions politely when he is unsure. This skill will lessen anxiety in a new place as he can ask for help when needed.

Give the child the space to think through simple problems. For example, parents can get him to choose and hang decorations for Chinese New Year.

“When things don’t stay up on the wall, ask the child why. Get him to figure things out,” she suggests.

Another way is to discuss events in the news. Ask the child for his opinion and to tell you how and why he thinks that way.

Confidence is also built on the nature of feedback. Parents need to respond positively even if the child’s effort has failed, says Dr Jesuvadian. “Show where the child has gone wrong (demonstrate), get the child to redo it and provide constructive comments. Try not to dictate your child’s actions,” she adds.

5. Emotional regulation skills

Why it is important

Developing emotional regulation skills helps children manage big feelings, says Ms Jacinth Liew, a former teacher turned parenting coach at Our Little Play Nest.

This could come in the form of disappointment when they are not selected for the school team, sadness when their friends ignore them at recess or envy when other classmates get the newest electronic games.

A pre-schooler who can regulate his emotions will be able to tell his friends, “I will pass it to you when I am done”, instead of shouting or snatching the toys back.

Or, if he is hungry, he is able to tell his parents, “I want to eat more”, instead of throwing tantrums.

Help your child develop it 

A key to helping a child better manage his emotions is for the parent to be in control of his or her own emotions.

“When that happens, parents send a powerful message: ‘I’m not afraid of your big feelings, and you don’t need to be afraid of them either.’ This helps them feel safe and supported,” she says.

The calm that parents exude also becomes contagious – through the activation of their child’s mirror neurons, specialised brain cells that mimic the emotions and behaviours he observes.

A common mistake parents make is when they feel a need to stop their child’s crying as quickly as possible.

Says Ms Liew: “By doing so, we are robbing children of the chance to practise modulating their emotions.”

Normalise and validate all feelings rather than sweep a child’s emotions under the carpet.

Parents can teach some simple coping skills, like deep breathing, counting to 10 or rating the child’s feelings on a scale of one to 10.

Alternatively, calm a child down by holding his hand or offering a comforting hug.

“Physical touch can help release oxytocin, a hormone that promotes feelings of security and calm,” says Ms Liew.

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how to be redundant

We have all heard about professionals who suddenly find themselves struggling to excel after years in stable, high-paying jobs and, ultimately, losing their positions. Or relatively new entrants into the job market who find their qualifications already obsolete. 

This new era of dynamic changes in technology requires constant upgrading of job skills. However, despite efforts to upskill the global workforce by 2025, nearly 60 per cent of workers will still require further training to remain relevant. In Singapore, this figure is even higher at 70 per cent.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned that this skills gap will persist. And in a WEF panel discussion in January, our President, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, noted the looming global skills mismatch, which occurs when people cannot find jobs despite completing tertiary education.

He called on both employers and governments to invest in training for workers right now and not wait till workers are displaced by new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

Yet, employer support for upskilling or re-skilling is not guaranteed. Up to 11 per cent of the global workforce – especially those in roles losing relevance – face the risk of becoming unemployable.

What causes them to fall into the irrelevance trap? More importantly, what measures could prevent their downfall?

Don’t resist change, but adapt

With disruption intensifying across economic, geopolitical, consumer and technological domains, business leaders are accelerating transformation efforts to adapt to the new environment. Research suggests that up to one-third of large organisations are transforming at any given time, leading to job creation, redesign or elimination.

I spoke to a range of professionals who have been involved or affected by this. Janice has experienced four large-scale transformations as a process re-engineering director driving the changes, which involves redesigning existing business processes to improve efficiency. 

She said: “Since the 2000s, organisations have pursued massive transformations. However, such ‘revolutionary’ approaches often had high failure rates. Today, companies are opting for smaller, frequent steps forward.”

Janice has this advice for workers: “While employees may face constant change, these shifts can be seen as opportunities to refresh their skills.” 

As an executive coach working with leaders worldwide to remain agile amid all the changes, I have observed their efforts to keep teams intact and protect jobs. However, when pressures mount from all directions, leaving no-one behind is not always an option.

Ricky, a seasoned head of sales at a global IT company, told me: “Skill sets don’t become completely obsolete, but they must be regularly updated to stay relevant. Those with a growth mindset and a commitment to lifelong learning will find the workforce more rewarding.”

He added: “For those who resist change, tough decisions become inevitable.” 

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Well-equipped leaders can make a big difference

While employees must take ownership of their upskilling, leaders set the tone.

Poor leadership during times of change can leave employees frustrated and disengaged.

Celeste, a middle manager in financial services, echoed the frustrations of some workers when she told me: “Another reorganisation? All these changes are so poorly communicated that we’ve lost sight of the purpose. The flip-flop decisions and lack of follow-through aren’t helping.”

When leaders are ill-prepared to guide change, the consequences extend beyond missed business targets. Change fatigue and loss of meaning in work become real concerns.

On the other hand, well-equipped leaders can inspire and empower their teams.

Lam, a team leader at a cyber security company, said: “My manager excelled at communicating early and clearly. That transparency reduced suspicion, and once we believed the change was achievable, we became more committed. Having a say in the process strengthened our motivation to learn and adapt.” 

Trust and psychological safety

For change initiatives to succeed, leaders must create environments where employees feel safe to make mistakes, learn and grow. This demands that leaders themselves be equipped with the right competencies to foster such a culture.

Two critical competencies stand out: trust and psychological safety. For example, Janice noted: “Trust is the biggest factor. Employees need time to adjust to new job roles, learn new skills and become proficient. It’s easier to follow a leader they trust. 

“When trust in leadership erodes, defensive behaviours emerge and organisations break apart from within.”

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Beyond trust, employees must feel safe to take risks. Research has defined employee psychological safety as a shared belief that taking interpersonal risks at work is safe.

Through research, I found that organisations that encourage open communication and learning without fear of failure foster continuous innovation.

A McKinsey study found that 85 per cent of executives admit fear of failure stifles innovation, with fear of criticism ranking as the top concern. 

In Singapore, this aligns with our cultural fear of losing face. To drive meaningful change, leaders must acknowledge these emotional responses and address them – not just with logic, but with empathy. 

My research also highlighted how a leader’s response to mistakes can intensify or reduce fear of failure. That is why organisations must foster a no-blame culture balanced with a sense of healthy accountability, so employees feel safe to experiment and learn new skills. Clear communication, active listening and leading by example are essential. 

Encouraging structured reflection on mistakes helps teams develop a fail-forward mindset, turning setbacks into learning opportunities. Additionally, leaders must be able to inspire a compelling vision, as studies on organisational creativity suggest that progress in meaningful work strengthens resilience, enabling employees to persist through challenges like skill acquisition.

Embracing skills evolution

While many professionals recognise the need to stay relevant, some remain hesitant, constrained by self-limiting beliefs such as “I’m too old to learn new skills”, or “My education should have prepared me for life”.

But the reality is clear: Skills evolution is unavoidable.

Industrial revolutions are accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The first lasted 80 years, the third 50 years, and now, while we are still in the fourth, experts predict the fifth industrial revolution is already under way.

Technological advancements will continue to reshape industries and jobs, making adaptability more critical than ever.

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Trying to navigate these rapid transformations can be overwhelming. However, when leaders build learning ecosystems and cultivate organisations centred on continuous development, the burden of adaptation becomes a shared effort.

Once employees no longer struggle in isolation, but instead become part of a collective movement towards progress, then the vision of leaving no person behind can become a reality.

Yeo Chuen Chuen is the founder of ACESENCE Agile Leadership and the author of Leaders People Love, an agile leader’s guide to creating great workplaces and happy employees.

trump to resign

The world will be watching as US President Donald Trump sits with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon in Saudi Arabia, in what is expected to birth the deal of the century as both sides seek a resolution to the nearly-three-year war in Ukraine.

A key question is whether Mr Trump can be counted on to safeguard Ukraine’s interests. Concerns are swirling that he could “sell out” the country and push for a compromise with Mr Putin.

Ukraine aside, nowhere is that fear of getting played out by the superpowers more keenly felt than on the Korean peninsula, where similarly, one country was ripped apart during the Cold War.

With one part under the US sphere of influence and the other under Russia’s, the two Koreas again risk becoming pawns in a proxy fight between the princes.

Both are worried that in Mr Trump’s and Mr Putin’s desire to strike a broader deal, their interests will end up sacrificed.

In Pyongyang, risks of getting ditched grow

Across Asia, as allies and trading partners to the US in Asia scramble to deal with an announced framework for US reciprocal tariffs, it is Mr Kim Jong Un who will give undivided attention to the grand bargain on Ukraine being hashed out.

After all, he might just get ditched by a resurgent Russia which, despite its historical ties to North Korea as communist comrades-in-arms, has growing relations with an expanding number of countries in Eurasia and Africa through the Brics grouping.

North Korea survives by dint of support from its superpower friends. And after decades of reliance on China for food, fuel and fertiliser, and a Covid-19 wake-up call on the need to diversify support after China closed borders and aid supplies, Pyongyang struck gold in 2024. 

A strategic partnership with Russia gave it heft in influencing international affairs and bolstered North Korea’s sense of security. It resulted in a defence pact, security cooperation as well as valuable battlefield experience and foreign currency as it supplied ammunition, soldiers and more to Russia.

For a while, even if thousands of its men were getting killed in Ukraine, North Korea appeared a somewhat credible military force capable of projecting chaos globally. But despite that strong tailwind, the North Korea of today is not the same pressing security threat to the US as it was in 2017 – when it ran nuclear tests, first developed the ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, and explicitly proclaimed an intention of firing one at US bases in Guam.

In 2017, outgoing president Barack Obama flagged North Korea as the most urgent problem facing the US to his successor, Mr Trump. But in 2025, North Korea has lost that aura. Its position as a client state reliant on superpower patronage creates more vulnerabilities than strengths.

As a threat in the Indo-Pacific, the hermit kingdom is “a problem to be solved in two seconds” if China so wished, Mr Trump had once told Chinese President Xi Jinping.

And in the Atlantic theatre, North Korea’s involvement in the Ukraine war – along with the reciprocal aid from Russia in nuclear capability and defence weaponry development – may now be a bargaining chip for Mr Putin to trade away. 

At the very least, the tap will be tightened. If the war in Ukraine ends, Russia has no need for North Korean munitions or cannon fodder. That would leave North Korea back at square one.

A chance for a deal?

Still, the search for an end to the Ukraine war provides a starting point for talks between the US and North Korea. 

There are signs that the US is open to and equipped for engagement with Mr Kim. Mr Trump has assembled a team which includes appointing Mr Richard Grenell, a former US ambassador to Germany, as presidential envoy for special issues including on North Korea. He has also picked Mr Alex Wong, a former deputy special representative for North Korea, as deputy national security adviser.

Sensing an opportunity, North Korea, too, might decide to take its chances and negotiate with the US, linking an end to its involvement in Ukraine with matters on the Korean peninsula. It has been trying to catch America’s eye, taunting the US since Mr Trump’s return by condemning the US’ Gaza takeover suggestion.

Why might it do that? A key problem with past Trump-Kim summits was the misalignment of expectations: The US expected “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” or CVID, failing to recognise this contradicted Mr Kim’s desire for regime survival, in which the possession of nuclear weapons was critical.

The Ukraine war reinforced that belief in Mr Kim. Why should he repeat the disastrous mistake by Ukraine, which gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994 in exchange for a guarantee of its security and sovereignty, only to be invaded by Russia, a signatory to that agreement, twice in a decade?

That impediment appears removed, if Mr Trump’s recent comments recognising North Korea as a “nuclear power” becomes policy – an outcome made of the stuff of North Korea’s wildest dreams.

The US approach would then centre on arms control and non-proliferation. The questions to be resolved in any negotiation are how many warheads and what delivery systems Pyongyang should be allowed to possess.

The risk is that the superpowers might decide to answer that question themselves and arm-twist North Korea to accept terms. Its choices are limited and, so, it frets. Earlier, it could play the rogue-state card, assured of the backing of its powerful allies. But Mr Putin has bigger fish to fry now and Pyongyang may have to fall in line and accept harsher conditions than it wanted.

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In Seoul, fears of abandonment loom

Across the demilitarised zone on the 38th parallel, the mood is strikingly sombre, as fears of abandonment by the US and risks of getting sidelined grow. 

Mr Trump’s penchant for unpredictability and unilateralism, coupled with his transactional approach to foreign policy, exacerbates such anxieties.

“Allowing North Korea to develop nuclear weapons and leaving South Korea out of any US talks with North Korea are bright red lines for Seoul,” Professor Lee Shin-wha of the department of political science and international relations at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Unification Studies, and visiting scholar at the East Asian Institute, tells me.

Moving away from that sancrosanct goal of denuclearisation and letting North Korea keep its nukes opens a can of worms for Seoul.

South Korean soldiers watching a live-firing exercise with the US Army in Pocheon on Feb 10. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

What if Washington trades off Seoul’s security for its own – and allows Mr Kim to keep his short-range missiles and other nuclear delivery systems capable of destroying his neighbour in return for dismantling his long-range missile capability that can reach the US?

What if Mr Kim demands that Mr Trump draw down the US military presence on the Korean peninsula in return? Can Seoul count on a man all too willing to do away with US-South Korea military drills in the past not to concede on its behalf?

For now, all Seoul can do is to give Mr Trump fewer reasons to cut it off after witnessing him threaten to let Russia have its way with Nato countries that do not “pay their dues”.

“South Korea understands the need for burden-sharing on defence and security, and is committed to raising its share of the cost of stationing US troops in the country,” Prof Lee highlights.

Regardless, it won’t be able to shake off the fear of winding up a price-taker presented with a fait accompli of accepting North Korea’s nuclear status.

“Denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula remains a goal that enjoys non-partisan consensus even if the political parties are divided on the pathway to achieving that,” Professor Park Hahn-kyu, dean of the college of international studies at Kyung Hee University, points out.

“Conservatives see North Korea as an enemy and prefer an approach of deterrence and pressure, whereas liberals tend to view them as siblings and think economic cooperation will create interdependence and growth that obliterate the need for nuclear weapons,” he says. 

No matter the means, extinguishing the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea remains South Korea’s key objective. For a long time, the alliance with the US seemed the surest way of enabling that. But trust is the oil in that partnership, and that could be eroded.

Seoul sweats as it weighs uncomfortable options, chief of which is this: If the US cannot guarantee its security, should it go nuclear?

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Of princes and pawns

The emerging contours of a deal in Ukraine may also set the wheels in motion for a paradigm shift in US foreign policy towards the Korean peninsula – as one of investments in exchange for arms control. 

And unlike the Agreed Framework deal in place from 1994 to 2002, which froze North Korea’s nuclear power programme in exchange for energy aid from the US, today, Pyongyang has something the US wants.

Mr Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary, is in Ukraine this week to discuss US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, a natural resource used in everything from smartphones to missile systems.

If Ukraine refuses, America has alternatives. Studies have suggested the world’s largest deposits lie in North Korea.

The US, too, could offer something Mr Kim wants: economic development. Notably, Mr Kim had publicly apologised to the North Korean people in February 2024; he said he was “ashamed and sorry” for neglecting rural development and promised to reverse the trend by building factories over the next 10 years.

A final note: This endeavour to figure out how the end of the Ukraine war might affect the trajectory of a 70-year-old Korean War frozen in time is admittedly largely guesswork.

Then again, there are no easy answers to a North Korean misfit that appears to have little choice other than to constantly use the threat of developing nuclear weapons to blackmail others to survive.

Whatever happens, the upcoming chat between Mr Trump and Mr Putin is a timely reminder of the influence developments in Europe can have in Asia, and the uncomfortable chokehold powerful countries have over others.

To paraphrase an old adage, the strong do what they want and the not-so-strong suffer what they must.

Lin Suling is senior columnist at The Straits Times.

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how to get pple to resign

The gut reaction that a manager has when an employee announces his or her resignation is telling. Sometimes it is genuine dismay: The person leaving is a star. Sometimes, disappointment is mixed with irritation at having to recruit and train a replacement. And sometimes, it is relief: the human resources equivalent of a pebble being removed from your shoe.

For Mr Elon Musk and his acolytes at the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), employees of the federal government in America are pebbles all the way down. On Jan 28, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an e-mail to roughly two million workers offering them “deferred resignation”, the chance to resign and get paid until the end of September.

The legality of this offer is uncertain (on Feb 12, a judge allowed it to proceed). So is the end-goal: Bosses often use voluntary redundancy as a consensual way to cut headcount but the assumption is usually that they want the organisation itself to survive. Still, the episode raises an interesting question: Is there a good way to get workers to resign?

The openness of the OPM’s deferred-resignation offer is in its favour. Bosses have long adopted underhand tactics to encourage individuals to quit rather than have to sack them.

Some types of “quiet firing” reduce stimulation and status: Managers give their targets menial work to do or stick them in smaller and smaller offices until they end up feeling like a corporate version of Alice.

Other approaches set people up for failure: deadlines that cannot be met, weekly meetings at 3am to suit one colleague in Australia. Nudging people to resign by making life intolerable will not win you a manager-of-the-year award. Nor is it an efficient way to thin the ranks. Giving employees an explicit incentive to leave their jobs can be an effective way to separate the committed from the time-servers. Zappos and Amazon, two online retailers, have experimented with pay-to-quit programmes designed to winkle out new hires who are not motivated to stay.

When Mr Musk took over Twitter in 2022, he sent an e-mail with the same subject-line as the OPM’s missive, asking people to click on a link if they were ready to embrace his “hardcore” culture. Those that did not click were offered severance pay, though lawsuits continue from those who say they did not receive the money.

A pay-to-quit scheme makes it more costly for workers to feign enthusiasm for a job. But, as a paper by Professor Robert Dur and Dr Heiner Schmittdiel of Erasmus University Rotterdam points out, it can have unintended consequences if it is a standing offer: People may end up joining a firm in order to resign and get an exit bonus.

There may be a subtler and cheaper way to prompt resignations among people who are not a good fit. In a recent study by Professor Nava Ashraf and Professor Oriana Bandiera of the London School of Economics and Assistant Professor Virginia Minni and Professor Luigi Zingales of the University of Chicago, some employees of a consumer goods firm were asked to reflect on what mattered to them and whether their jobs fulfilled their individual sense of purpose. In the months following these workshops, exits from the company increased substantially among participants, compared with employees who did not take part, and did so particularly among lower performers. Productivity rose.

The success of a resignation offer depends partly on what kind of future awaits people who stay. The OPM e-mail warns government employees that there is more downsizing and restructuring to come. The people most likely to take the money in these circumstances are often strong performers, who have the best chance of landing a new job.

There is some indirect evidence for this effect in a recent paper by Ms Yuye Ding of the University of Pittsburgh and her co-authors, which looks at the effect of return-to-office (RTO) mandates on employee churn. Plenty of people suspect that bosses require people to come back into the office, partly in order to prompt resignations, and the evidence from the LinkedIn profiles of workers at financial and technology firms in the S&P 500 is that RTO mandates do cause turnover to spike. The authors also find that churn is greatest among women and among more experienced and skilled workers, and that firms subsequently have more trouble filling vacancies.

Such considerations may not matter much to the Doge folk, whose primary aim seems to be evisceration. But if you want to encourage resignations and end up with more wheat than chaff, it helps to have a compelling vision of the future. 

© 2025 THE ECONOMIST NEWSPAPER LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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ai reduces need to have libraries

SINGAPORE – In my school years, I kept a running log of quotes I wished to commit to memory. This, I stored on my laptop, long neglected, until the recent statement by Singapore writers criticising the National Library Board’s (NLB) use of artificial intelligence (AI) sent me scurrying back.

The entry I was looking for was extracted from a Guardian article on English writer and designer William Morris, a lifelong champion of craftsmanship.

Google had put up Morris-inspired doodles on its home page on the 182nd year of his birthday in 2016, inducing the journalist to ask: “It is fascinating that Google has created its Morris doodle at the same time that it is leading the world in artificial intelligence. How is AI going to change the world of work? Will human work as we know it vanish – and if so, what will people do? A utopian answer might be that all work becomes an art, and human potential is directed to the creation of beauty and happiness instead of mere things.”

Today, his prescient musings have become reality, except that, instead of leaving humanity time for higher-order pursuits, these are what AI seems to be cannibalising first.

Each technological advancement has hardly reduced the hours people commit to their jobs, with companies demanding ever higher levels of efficiency. There remains little appetite to be conscientious about beauty in the average worker.

Add to that a culture of instant gratification that has trained a preference for flat, functional communication instead of layered prose, and people now even prefer the aesthetic of machines to that of their fellow men.

A study at the University of Pittsburgh in 2024 found participants ranking AI-generated poems higher than those by William Shakespeare, Lord Byron and T.S. Eliot. The nail in the coffin? They often assessed that their choices were written by human poets.

In the spirit of thorough inquiry, I played the devil’s advocate. Students at secondary level already use calculators, so why should people limit themselves to the equivalent of an abacus?

Yet there is something about the sacrosanct nature of words, which underlies so much of human nature and society in the form of self-expression, dialogue, law, history, religion and ethics. The universe may be built on numbers, but human consciousness is founded on language.

Descartes’ timeless formulation of radical doubt, “I think, therefore I am”, is not just expressed in words. The very thought he is conscious of is moulded and possible only because of them.

A tool that actively erodes this core tenet of human nature represents a transmogrification of humanity that requires an imagination more expansive than mine to accept.

Part of the reason for the backlash against NLB is the overwhelmingly positive rhetoric at all levels surrounding the use of AI, which has taken over communications, design and outreach activities.

NLB is taking flak because it should be the custodian of books, human knowledge and literacy, especially critical when adult literacy levels here are subpar and worsening.

Since then, chief librarian Gene Tan has said that using AI with the permission of authors has helped to engage more than 2.5 million people, and that creative writing workshops using AI form just 4 per cent of NLB’s courses.

If anything comes of this furore, it should be that clearer direction and public communication are needed. Singapore cannot walk into an AI future with its eyes wide shut; a post-AI society would have no need for libraries anyway.

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downgrade phone

I was on a mission, biking around to post fliers for my latest tech downgrading event. “Want to ditch your smartphone?” they asked in bold capitals. “Want to leave social media? Spend less time on screens?”

I had taken a friend along to hold the tape dispenser and look out for cops. “Are you going to mention the TikTok ban at the event?” he asked as I affixed a flier to, appropriately, a defunct phone booth.

“What TikTok ban?” I asked. Clearly, I had missed something major.

I am a 29-year-old anti-tech activist. I received my first smartphone for Christmas at 15 and spent the ensuing decade in its thrall. But I gave it up three years ago, switching to what I call a dumbphone – mine is a Nokia 2780 flip phone – that can do little more than call or text.

While I do occasionally use social media on a laptop to spread my message, I generally abide by a no-scroll policy: I log on, make posts, then log off. I don’t need to waste a single additional second on these platforms to fuel the anger and conviction behind my mission: to get people off their smartphones.

“Downgrading” is the term I adopted to describe making the switch. I aim to help others do the same. They are often sceptical. “I have no sense of direction” is a common objection. Others are “I need to use FaceTime” or “I need to log my runs”.

Downgrading is the radical decision to step backward in an age of dizzying, almost compulsory, forward momentum. I have watched many people attempt to reduce their screen time, an agonising process requiring constant vigilance and self-restraint. Removing the option altogether, I’ve found, is the surest way out.

Three years ago, I was as entangled in my smartphone as anyone. As an Instagram art influencer with nearly 200,000 followers, I spent all day online and earned all my money through the app: print sales, drawing commissions and paid partnerships with art supply companies.

Social media makes no distinction between the personal and the professional. The way I saw it, Instagram had given me that rare and enviable thing: a career as an artist. I didn’t understand how much it had taken in return.

In the summer of 2022, as I was preparing for the publication of my first book, I was suddenly locked out of my account. This was a career emergency: How would I promote the book? Furthermore, how would I sell my art? It was months before I regained access – Meta is not known for responsive customer service – and in the meantime, I was financially insecure and socially isolated. Online, I was a public figure; offline, I was anonymous, adrift.

When TikTok was briefly shut down in January in the US, the app’s more than 150 million American users had the same sudden realisation. The platform’s centrality to human connection was made explicit and intolerable. Billions of social ties were erased by forces unseen and beyond our control. We had built this online world, only to find that it did not belong to us.

What’s more, nothing on social media belongs to us. Our art, our ideas and our relationships are reduced to data to be mined and exploited by tech corporations, sometimes even used to train artificial intelligence models.

We have no backups, either: Few people still keep address books or mailing lists, much less diaries or photo albums. When we lose access to social media, we lose touch with not only much of our circle but also our history and, in a certain sense, our identities. And these services are well aware of their power. They have won it through investing unfathomable amounts of money and intelligence, human and otherwise, in the exploitation of our attention.

But is it really possible to overcome it – to downgrade – without greatly inconveniencing ourselves and everyone we know?

My answer: What could possibly be more inconvenient than our current situation? Studies report that Americans spend an average of three to five hours per day on their smartphones. That figure is much higher for teenagers. We don’t need statistics to tell us how easy it is to slip into scrolling, and how hard it is to resist.

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My encounters with aspiring downgraders illustrate not only the scale of the problem but also the scale of our discontent. Not a day goes by that I don’t receive a desperate e-mail from someone seeking help in overcoming their tech dependency. Recently, though, I’ve begun hearing from people who have broken the cycle. A cultural shift is under way.

It will be slow and awkward. Just as many of us can no longer navigate our cities intuitively, we can no longer navigate our days without the internet. In moments of boredom, stress, procrastination, we reach for our devices.

The younger generations have done this all their lives. Parents desperate for a moment of quiet drop their phones into the stroller. Even parents who restrict screen time cannot control what their children are exposed to at school or friends’ houses. It should come as no surprise that teenagers raised like this panicked at the idea of losing TikTok – the equivalent of teenagers in the 1970s losing, in one fell swoop, their access to records, books, magazines, telephones and the postal service.

The loss affects not only teenagers, for whom social media is primarily a platform for entertainment and conversation, but also artists, authors, public figures, business owners – people like me whose professional networks, whose very livelihoods, are bound up in these platforms.

It’s not that I avoid the internet entirely. I occasionally post on Instagram and X, and I write a newsletter on Substack, but since I don’t carry these platforms in my pocket all day, they don’t overwhelm me. I no longer feel subject to their constraints and demands.

Social media meets essential human needs: entertainment, inspiration, solace, knowledge of the world and connection to others. We have always had these needs, and we have always managed to meet them in some form; people obviously dated long before the introduction of dating apps.

The apps have only worsened, if not outright created, the problem they propose to solve. We’ve become so used to selecting partners on a sterile, simulated interface that we’ve lost the ability to make spontaneous, messy connections in real life. To quietly think. To be bored. By relying on these digital tools, we’ve allowed their precedents to recede into the past, neglected to the point of obsolescence. Only by downgrading can we revive them. NYTIMES

August Lamm is an artist, an anti-tech activist, the writer of a Substack newsletter and the author of the forthcoming novel Lambing Season.

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mental health

Often, we believe that doing good for the community is a one-way street in which the beneficiary gains. However, the journey for those doing good can be very rewarding, in ways that are not always obvious.

Let me elaborate.

My involvement in the mental health space goes back a decade, when I joined a conglomerate that has two charities focused on this cause: one in Hong Kong that was established two decades back, and its sister charity in Singapore that was founded in 2011.

As I was the one providing legal support to the Singapore mental health charity, the leadership thought I should also be its public touchpoint – interacting with stakeholders (internal and external), potential donors and the media.

If I am candid I’ll admit I initially saw this as another work deliverable. But the years that followed have shown me how rewarding and meaningful this endeavour can be. If there was any question about why I should invest my time in mental health matters, the Covid-19 pandemic dispelled all my doubts.

Being involved in the mental health space has given me an opportunity to interact with a community of people, partners and practitioners.

In this community, I have been inspired by psychiatrists who waive their professional fees to help friends recover their mental wellness; met individuals who donated the entire sum of thousands of dollars collected at the funeral of a relative – the “white gold” bai jin (白金 ) – as a legacy in support of mental health work; met a young professional who trained for and ran a triathlon in memory of her late parent who taught her the importance of mental resilience and good mental health.

These interactions have opened my mind and heart – making me more understanding of people struggling with mental health issues and challenging myself to contemplate what more can be done to gain a deeper understanding of those with mental health issues and the daily difficulties they face. In short, how can they be supported in their journey of recovery?

Awareness and stigma

Like physical health, mental health is a critical aspect of one’s overall well-being, yet it often remains shrouded in stigma and misapprehension. Raising awareness about mental health is a crucial step towards breaking down these barriers. However, it is a task fraught with challenges.

This negative bias surrounding mental health often results in discrimination and isolation of those affected, creating a climate of fear and unjustified misunderstanding. This often works to deter individuals from seeking help and engaging in mental health conversations. The challenge is in finding safe places to share about one’s mental health struggles, given there is anxiety (or fear) that this revelation and disclosure may impact one’s relationships and possibly one’s overall employability.

Not that long ago, there was a question in job application forms in Singapore, inquiring about mental health issues. It often placed persons in recovery in a difficult bind: To disclose and risk being excluded from consideration or be untruthful, with the possibility of being found out subsequently and having one’s integrity called into question.

In responding to advocacy and lobbying against the continuation of this practice, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) effectively abolished the question on mental health in application forms by updating their guidelines in 2019, stating that asking job applicants to declare their mental health condition without a good reason is discriminatory and should be removed from application forms.

This was an enlightened decision and a strategic win that involved advocacy groups. The result was socially impactful.

On the personal level, I was encouraged to add my (limited) voice to support this lobbying effort through the various community channels and networks I was connected to. It taught me the importance of standing up for social good – using one’s voice and view (together with others) to influence for positive change.

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Attitudes and acceptance

But the path of progress for mental health acceptance is not linear. The acid test is whether corporates and organisations are willing to offer jobs to persons in recovery.

Many organisations profess inclusiveness but don’t actually offer employment.

What if the applicant suffers a meltdown at work, they ask. And wouldn’t colleagues require training to support persons in recovery?

However, I have been greatly encouraged (and inspired) by the Beyond the Label campaign by the National Council of Social Services, which encourages us to re-examine our stereotypes of those with mental health challenges, often unfairly writing them off as being incapable of being effective or productive in the workplace.

Admittedly, I too, was previously guilty of harbouring this unhelpful perspective.

I recall observing a supermarket business that offered a part-time packing role at the checkout counter to a person in recovery. The cashier (who was the “buddy” to this individual) took it in her stride to encourage the person not to be stressed by the unrelenting queue of customers. She reminded the person of the importance of taking a break if the stress became too much, while exhorting customers to be more understanding.

To me, this was a powerful example of the “last mile” practical steps needed to fully integrate persons in recovery back into the community and workplace.

My small claim to success in this aspect lies in persuading employers to be open to this journey of employing persons in recovery.

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Over the past decade, the mental health charity I serve with has managed to secure job opportunities for over 400 persons in recovery, partnering like-minded organisations such as the Singapore Association of Mental Health and corporates like the DFI Group.

Having been retrenched twice in my career, I understand the sense of fulfilment and self-worth that having a job can offer: The impact is priceless and applies equally to the individual with mental health challenges and their family.

What you get back

When one engages in doing good to others you assume that it’s only the beneficiary who gains. In fact, studies have shown there are significant benefits for the individuals performing the good deeds. These benefits span physical and mental health, emotional well-being and social connections. I know, as I have discovered and experienced this at the personal level: It has led to my own enhanced mental health – a sense of purpose in and connectedness to the community.

Studies also show that volunteering can reduce symptoms of depression and increase life satisfaction.

A study published in the journal Health Psychology found that individuals who provided social support to others had lower blood pressure, which is associated with a reduced risk of health issues like heart disease.

Without sounding dramatic, the American Journal of Public Health reported that individuals who helped others during stressful times lived longer than those who did not.

Raising funds for the mental health charity I am associated with has made me less introverted. I am more open about approaching people while raising funds for a good cause (becoming a professional “beggar for good”, as a friend teases me).

Put simply, my association with mental health matters has been a rewarding journey – for promoting the mental health cause and, surprisingly, my personal development.

Our mental health charity was recognised by the Commissioner of Charities and I was given the honour of visiting the Istana to receive the highest charity award from Singapore’s then President, herself an ardent champion for mental health.

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I have discovered that in giving our time for the service of others, we find purpose and a sense of fulfilment that is deeply satisfying.

As we start a new year and consider what to focus our energies on, my simple wish is for more to invest their time and talent to do good – if only to experience the personal transformational effects of the “goodness boomerang”.

This lawyer has certainly received far more than he could have asked for or imagined.

• Jeffery Tan is group general counsel and chief sustainability officer of Jardine Cycle & Carriage, a member of the Jardine Matheson Group. He sits on various boards, including the mental health charity Jardine Mindset.

money getting smaller

SINGAPORE – No one likes prices shooting up, but if we have to live with it, it is better we save more and cut down on unnecessary expenses that could rake up higher credit card debt.

This appears to be the sentiment of a huge majority of working folk here, as they have made great strides in saving more and reducing debt after being hit by inflation caused by global changes in recent years.

In a new OCBC survey of about 2,000 working adults aged 21 to 65, 94 per cent said they have been saving regularly – a significant improvement from the pre-Covid-19 poll in 2019 when 87 per cent said they were regular savers.

And 70 per cent are also disciplined in spending within their means by sticking to their budgets.

There is also a slight improvement when it comes to managing credit card debt and personal loans – 89 per cent now say they can manage their expenses well compared with 86 per cent in the 2019 cohort.

But there are at least five financial sins that continue to whittle away the savings of many people, and what is worrying is that such trends are unlikely to abate any time soon.

1. Gambling

About 40 per cent of those polled are still betting more money than they can afford on Lady Luck. While it is only human to make regular small bets or the occasional bigger ones on festive draws, you are in danger of becoming an addict if you cannot resist betting hundreds of dollars every week.

As in any game of chance, spending more does not ensure that you have a better chance of winning than those who spend much less.

Ultimately, you will become the biggest loser if you bet more than you can afford because banking on winning in gambling is never a viable retirement plan.

2. Not settling credit card bills

It is such a big contrast – some people take pains to put their money in risk-free bonds and fixed deposits that earn 3 per cent to 4 per cent, and yet there are those who just let their credit card debt incur a whopping 25 per cent annual interest charge.

This unhealthy habit is especially acute among those under 30, with more than 40 per cent of them often just paying the required minimum sum every month, the OCBC poll noted. This means the balance and the interest on the debt will roll over and continue to grow.

It is very hard to get out of a credit card debt trap, even if it is just $20,000. You will need about four years to clear this if you pay $600 a month and almost two years if you pay $1,200 a month.

Before you charge a holiday or a luxurious item that you cannot afford on your cards, ask whether you are prepared to suffer financial ruin over such expenses.

3. Speculating on stocks

Many young investors have been betting on popular US technology stocks because the volatility can result in price swings of up to 10 per cent in a single day. Of course, most people focus on the instant wins, without realising that such gains can also be erased when the price swings the other way.

The poll found that 26 per cent of investors would make excessive gambles with the hope of quick gains in the stock market. If you follow the horde blindly and make bets on stocks based on popular sentiment, you could end up with huge losses if you are slow in cashing out when the price drops.

4. Keeping up with pretences

Many people like to flaunt their “wealth” on social media, with the intention of making their friends believe that they are living the high life. If this is true, the number of people in the workforce should drop drastically, since there are already so many wealthy people living among us.

The reality is that 27 per cent of young people who do so are actually spending beyond their means just to live it up in a dream world that they cannot afford. For instance, they tend to splurge excessively on concert tickets, holidays and branded accessories.

There is no joy in living in such short-lived pretences because you will just fall deeper into the debt trap.

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5. Sponging off friends and relatives

All of us loathe colleagues, friends or relatives who are quick to join the group for outings and meals and yet often “conveniently forget” to pay for their share. As if that is not bad enough, about 6 per cent would even ask for loans that they would not bother to return, noted the poll.

Ultimately, all of us should think twice about encouraging all these financial sins because nothing ends a relationship faster than disputes over money.

High interest rates led to more savings 

Higher interest rates in the past few years have imposed burdens on people with loans and mortgages to pay, but they have certainly brought much cheer to those with extra cash to spare.

The higher returns for safe investments such as fixed-income securities, bonds and deposits have encouraged around 10 per cent more people to save for their retirement.

Those who do so even saved about 10 per cent more, by allocating up to a quarter of their monthly salary for such investments, up from about 16 per cent of their income previously.

As a result, over 60 per cent of working adults here can enjoy additional income from such risk-free investments.

Unlike property investments, which require substantial cash outlay, most people can set aside fixed-income savings that are based on their affordability.

As a comparison, about 20 per cent of investors here have additional properties that would enable them to earn rental income.

Younger couples are not as savvy 

It is common to assume that couples who are working but have no children are probably quite well off since they enjoy two sets of salaries, but the OCBC poll appears to show otherwise.

For a start, most of them do not seek professional advice when it comes to investing as they prefer to do it on their own, such as making bets on the US stock market via online platforms.

Not surprisingly, about 60 per cent of them have not even started planning for their future simply because they are focused on day-to-day expenses.

Many of those polled even indicated that they have no intention of making such plans in the near future.

Some of them may have more disposable income, but about 40 per cent have the tendency to overspend because they do not monitor their expenses.

It is no wonder the poll found that many of these younger folk underestimate the amount needed for retirement, especially when they wish to retire by the age of 55.

They have not made any viable plans for retirement and yet hope to retire in their own private homes, as well as be able to afford to drive “high-end” cars and have long holidays at least twice a year.

Ultimately, the purpose of such surveys is to highlight some pain points of life so that we can be more enlightened and make plans for them.

Many people aspire to retire early so that they can start enjoying the good life. You can most certainly aim for this, but note that money does not drop from the sky so you need to work hard to plan for it now so you have more to spend in the future.

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work longer

I agree with Invest Editor Tan Ooi Boon that many people dislike reading about or even distrust surveys relating to financial planning, believing that these are ploys to get them to buy more financial products (Why many people think having over $600k is enough to retire on, Feb 2).

Some people think that they have everything planned and hence have no need to buy financial products to make up for any shortfall. 

I know of friends who were happy to retire before reaching retirement age as they believed that they had accumulated “sufficient savings” to live their lives. 

Of course, people can retire at any age as long as the savings can outlast them. But we need to bear in mind that our lifestyle may need to be adjusted as we are using and hence depleting our fixed savings.

Any investment funds which promise to deliver a 5 per cent dividend yield may not realise the same yield rate down the road, or worse, cannot even offset the inflation rate.

With Singaporeans’ average life expectancy at 83 years and with increasing medical costs, we may need more savings to retire comfortably if we do not want to burden our children. 

I strongly encourage Singaporeans to work longer if medically able to. Even a part-time job is good enough to stay financially independent and mentally alert. 

But for those who firmly believe in early retirement to have a more relaxed life, do expect an adjustment to the lifestyle as our fixed savings or investment income may not be sufficient to last another 30 or 40 years down the road.

Foo Sing Kheng

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financial literacy

I read with interest the letters from Ms Ang Bee Leng (Incorporate financial literacy and healthy living into mainstream education, Jan 15) and the reply from the Ministry of Education’s Mr Ong Kong Hong (Financial literacy and healthy living incorporated in school curricula, Jan 28).

The Ministry of Education has carefully curated critical core skills, values and concepts related to financial literacy and healthy living and integrated these into the school curricula from the primary level all the way to the pre-university level.

As a former primary school teacher with more than 20 years of experience, I found Singaporean students generally receptive to such lessons. To help them make the connection between the knowledge and its application, schools also design a wide range of programmes and projects for students to apply their learning in meaningful contexts.

I would like to highlight that the real learning and application of financial concepts and healthy living actually happen at home. How families plan and manage their budget and finances, how they value healthy eating and keep up with an active lifestyle at home have a significant impact on the way students perceive the connection between what they learn in school, and their real lives.

I urge parents and grandparents, being the significant adults in the children’s lives, to partner schools to actively promote smart and prudent spending, as well as role-modelling a healthy and balanced lifestyle, right at home. This partnership is a more sustainable approach to inculcating the right attitude and values, so that students will not be confused.

Just as how Ms Ang phrased it, “these two topics should be woven into the fabric of education”, and the fabric of education is definitely beyond just schools alone.

Desiree Tan

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Forum: What readers are saying

retirement

I refer to the letters “Don’t forget to smell the roses now while saving for retirement” and “Work longer if you can to get more retirement savings” (both Feb 5).

Retirement is a deeply personal decision influenced by various factors, with each family facing unique circumstances when determining the right time to retire. While financial planning is important, there are times when other priorities take precedence.

In my case, I chose to retire early due to family commitments, particularly to care for aged family members. Balancing work and caregiving responsibilities is challenging and often stressful. In such situations, financial considerations may become secondary to ensuring loved ones receive the care and attention they need.

Both writers raised valid points. One emphasised living a meaningful life today, which is reassuring for those without substantial retirement savings. The other suggested working longer to maintain financial stability, a practical approach for those who can.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Every family must navigate retirement decisions based on their specific circumstances and needs.

Ultimately, retirement is not just about how much one saves or how long one works. It is also about making thoughtful decisions that reflect personal values, family responsibilities, and a sense of purpose in the next phase of life.

Gabriel Chia

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hk szx

HONG KONG/SHENZHEN – At the Shenzhen Civic Centre, dazzling patterns formed on towering skyscrapers, lit by more than a million LED light panels that bathed the city’s skyline in brilliant colours.

“That’s just like Hong Kong,” a woman exclaimed in Cantonese as the area lit up in unison at 8pm on a recent Friday evening, flashing in sync to upbeat music.

The 15-minute spectacle, which is projected on more than 40 buildings in the area, runs thrice nightly on Fridays and Saturdays in China’s Silicon Valley in southern Guangdong province.

The Shenzhen light show, launched in 2018 to celebrate China’s 40 years of reforms and opening up, is often compared with a similarly iconic performance in neighbouring Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Symphony of Lights show has been a tourist staple since 2004.

For 10 minutes from 8pm every evening, more than 40 buildings illuminate the city’s skyline with flashing LED panels, sweeping searchlights and projected laser beams “dancing” in rhythm to an East-West fusion of orchestral music.

But the Hong Kong show, which two decades ago was listed in the Guinness World Records for being the world’s largest permanent light and sound show, now appears to pale in comparison to its neighbour’s flashier and more sophisticated display.

It is symbolic of how the two cities’ roles have evolved in recent years.

Once a rural backwater that looked up to its richer, savvier neighbour across the border, Shenzhen underwent rapid development in the past four decades and flipped the power dynamics.

Today, it is with much admiration and some self-reproach as Hong Kong regards its northern neighbour’s technological advancements and economic achievements.

But within the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the reality is that both cities will need each other in order to have sustainable growth going forward.

The GBA refers to the region comprising the semi-autonomous cities of Hong Kong and Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Shenzhen is now home to many of China’s biggest tech giants, like telecommunications conglomerate Huawei, video gamemaker Tencent, electric carmaker BYD and dronemaker DJI.

The headquarters of DJI, the world’s largest dronemaker, in Shenzhen. ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM

It is among the country’s top three growth-engine cities, accounting for 2.7 per cent or 3.46 trillion yuan (S$652 billion) of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 – bested only by Shanghai’s 3.7 per cent and Beijing’s 3.5 per cent.

And it is expected to have performed even better in 2024, with its GDP growth in the year’s first three quarters already surpassing those of Beijing and Shanghai.

Hong Kong, meanwhile, ranked as the world’s fifth most competitive market in 2024, after Singapore, Switzerland, Denmark and Ireland. The ranking by IMD Business School in Switzerland is based on four main factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

But its GDP – once 500 times that of Shenzhen’s before the 1980s – has lagged behind the latter’s since 2017, standing at HK$2.98 trillion (S$517 billion) in 2023. And its port, once the world’s busiest, has fallen in the rankings as more trade is routed through Shenzhen and other Chinese ports.

In terms of living standard, however, Hong Kong’s is higher than that of Shenzhen with a per capita GDP of US$53,000 (S$71,852), almost twice that of Shenzhen’s US$27,000.

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Seeds of change

Separated only by a narrow river, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have been held up against each other for contrast and comparison since China’s opening up four decades ago.

Historically, Hong Kong has been known as the “Pearl of the Orient”, a success story that most other Chinese cities could once only aspire to.

From the 1950s to 1970s, it was the prosperous port city to which mainland Chinese people – living in poverty under the planned economy of the Communist Party – fled in droves, risking life and limb swimming in dangerous waters or trudging in the deep of the night across the border in desperate hope of a brighter future.

Even towards the turn of the century, when China had grown more prosperous, it continued to draw ambitious young mainlanders seeking high-paying jobs.

“Hong Kong was regarded as a place full of opportunities for people who were capable and determined, no matter their origin,” the city’s first mainland born and bred minister, Professor Sun Dong, recalled in an interview with The Straits Times in 2022.

Historically, Hong Kong has been known as the “pearl of the orient”, a success story that most other Chinese cities could once only aspire to. ST PHOTO: MAGDALENE FUNG

Prof Dong, who is the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, was explaining why he chose to pursue his doctoral education in robotics and automation in the financial hub over 30 years ago.

In a separate interview with his alma mater, he recounted receiving his first monthly scholarship stipend of more than HK$9,000 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994, compared with the “less than 100 yuan” he got on the mainland.

The stipend would have amounted to over 10,000 yuan according to the exchange rate at the time.

“It spoke volumes about the discrepancy in living standards between Hong Kong and the mainland at the time,” he said.

The first seeds of change were planted in the late 1970s, when China decided to make Shenzhen one of the country’s first four “special economic zones” (SEZs).

Professor Sun Dong was explaining why he chose to pursue his doctoral education in robotics and automation in the financial hub over 30 years ago. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

The Cultural Revolution, which ended in 1976, had crippled the Chinese economy.

This, alongside the unabating outflow of Chinese despite a heavily guarded border, made the leadership realise that it had to find new ways to grow the economy.

In 1980 and 1981, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong province, and Xiamen in Fujian province, became the country’s first four experimental fields for economic reform.

Picked for their respective proximity to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the aim of the SEZs was to learn from these more open, export-oriented economies, with Hong Kong and Macau at the time being colonies of Britain and Portugal respectively and Taiwan a self-ruled island that was and is claimed by China.

Hong Kong and Macau were returned to China under the one country, two systems political framework in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

The SEZs were given unprecedented leeway to experiment with market-oriented policies to attract more businesses and investments to the region.

Learning from the best

Chinese officials studied established models around the world for reference, travelling to places such as Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, in particular, played an indelible role in its northern neighbour’s transformation.

As Shenzhen, which began as a clutch of villages and farmland, sought to navigate an unfamiliar capitalist world in the 1980s and 1990s, it looked to the wealthy business hub for inspiration.

“In those early years (of the SEZ), the thinking of the people in Shenzhen and their ways of doing business were to a large extent affected by those in Hong Kong,” Professor Anthony Cheung, a former Hong Kong minister who is now chair professor and adviser in public administration at the Education University of Hong Kong, told ST.

General view of Shenzhen taken on Nov 26, 1990. PHOTO: AFP

Then, the British outpost’s laissez-faire economy was booming across sectors, including in its asset markets, finance and banking, manufacturing and personal consumption.

Its movie and music industries were flourishing, too, with well-loved stars like Leslie Cheung and Aaron Kwok bringing the city’s soft power to places far beyond its shores.

In time, Hong Kong became a key source of investments, know-how and infrastructure funding for Shenzhen, according to Associate Professor Zhou Taomo, a historian at the National University of Singapore.

The financial hub gave Shenzhen unfettered access to the capital, talents, ideas and technology that the new SEZ needed to carve out a niche for itself.

Shenzhen, meanwhile, picked up the slack in industries, such as manufacturing, that Hong Kong was shedding as it upgraded its own economy.

“Hong Kong was essential not just to Shenzhen’s development, but also to China’s overall reform and opening up,” Prof Zhou, who grew up in Shenzhen and is writing a book about its development, told ST.

Hong Kong became a key source of investments, know-how and infrastructure funding for Shenzhen. ST PHOTO: MAGDALENE FUNG

Many of Shenzhen’s early external investors were from Hong Kong. Eager to relocate their factories to wherever production was cheaper, their influx of capital helped to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

More importantly, these enterprising businessmen also brought with them ideas for economic reforms.

These ideas, which were quickly and widely implemented across Shenzhen, went a long way towards industrialising the mainland city – and later the rest of China.

One of these Hong Kongers, the tycoon founder of the 1970s iconic handbag and shoes brand Millie’s Group, Mr Alan Lau, played an important role in improving Shenzhen’s labour efficiency.

Officials allowed his Bamboo Garden Hotel – the city’s first foreign-invested hotel, which opened in 1981 – to pioneer the hiring of workers via contracts, after he complained that the prevailing system of iron rice bowls, where people basically had their jobs for life, was bad for business.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange, set up in 1990, emulated Hong Kong’s century-old bourse.

“When establishing Shenzhen’s capital market, policymakers systematically translated the financial regulations of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which served as a key reference,” said Prof Zhou.

Shenzhen’s stock exchange is one of the 10 largest bourses in the world by market capitalisation. ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM

Today, Shenzhen’s stock exchange is one of the 10 largest bourses in the world by market capitalisation, narrowly trailing the Hong Kong exchange as at December 2024.

Hong Kong’s tycoons also helped to build some of the key infrastructure projects serving Shenzhen.

Property developer Hopewell Holdings’ Mr Gordon Wu, for instance, was instrumental in helping Shenzhen build a power station to fix electricity shortages in its factories, as well as a highway to link the city to the provincial capital of Guangzhou.

In time, railways, ports and an airport sprang up, boosting Shenzhen’s connectivity and turning it into a logistics hub in its own right. This reduced its reliance on Hong Kong as a gateway to the world.

Dentist-entrepreneur Albert Lam, 65, who in the 2000s ran a business exporting dentures and crowns custom-made in Shenzhen to foreign buyers via Hong Kong, recalled that by 2007, it became more efficient to operate directly out of the mainland city.

“China caught up, and the logistics in Shenzhen became better than doing it through Hong Kong,” said the native of the financial hub, who moved to Shenzhen in 2007, where he still lives and works as a dentist and developer of dental tech.

Shenzhen rises

Shenzhen’s success did not come about just by following the well-trodden paths of other prosperous cities. It also blazed its own trail. The manufacturing powerhouse has come to be known as fertile ground that spawned industry leaders in sectors spanning telecommunications and drones to electric vehicles and mobile games.

The concentration of tech companies in Shenzhen has given it its prized status as “the Silicon Valley of China”.

How did it manage to catapult itself up the value chain, from just a manufacturing hub to a tech powerhouse, in a little more than two decades?

One contributing factor is intervention from the city’s government, which identified early on the need to develop high-tech industries to drive the economy.

Internet giant Tencent is headquartered in Shenzhen. ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM

This happened during a difficult time for Shenzhen around the late 1990s to early 2000s, according to the former Hong Kong minister Prof Cheung.

“Back then, Shenzhen was keen to deepen its relationship with Hong Kong, but Hong Kong preferred to focus on further developing itself as a major international financial centre like London and New York,” he said.

“Meanwhile, because the whole of China was opening up and undergoing economic reform at the time, being an SEZ was no longer special. There was a whole debate as to whether there was a future for Shenzhen.

“So Shenzhen, by way of its circumstances, had to find its own niche. And it put its bet on innovation and technology,” Prof Cheung explained.

The Shenzhen government built high-tech industrial parks and doled out incentives to reel in tech firms.

They positioned the city as an innovation hub, holding China’s biggest technology fair – the China Hi-Tech Fair – every year since 1999.

Shenzhen’s leaders also recognised the importance of building a talent pipeline for its tech firms, and stepped up the establishment of universities.

The first of the city’s universities – Shenzhen University, founded in 1983 – played an important role in training the city’s future technopreneurs. The founders of Tencent, including chief executive Pony Ma, are among its alumni.

Shenzhen University, the tech hub’s first university, is the alma mater of Tencent founders including chief executive Pony Ma. ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM

From the late 1990s to early 2000s, city officials brought in top schools such as Peking University and Tsinghua University, which set up satellite campuses in the city. They also established the Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology.

Shenzhen’s innovative edge also grew organically, out of its migrant-friendly outlook and mature manufacturing ecosystem.

“To me, Shenzhen is China’s most open city in terms of its thinking, culture and way of doing business,” Assistant Professor Zhang Yuqun, of the Southern University of Science and Technology’s (SUSTech) Department of Computer Science and Engineering, told ST.

The city’s open-minded culture and array of innovative firms are a draw for tech talents from across the country, said Prof Zhang, who relocated to Shenzhen in 2017 after eight years in the US.

Shenzhen’s extensive agglomeration of engineers and components across the supply chain is also what makes it an attractive destination for entrepreneurs, according to Dutch national Henk Werner, who runs Shenzhen-based start-up accelerator TroubleMaker.

The city is home to the world’s largest electronics market in Huaqiangbei, a major electronics manufacturing hub, where prototypes can be made at a fraction of the time and cost needed elsewhere, Mr Werner told ST.

The story of why the founder of major dronemaker DJI had relocated from Hong Kong to Shenzhen is telling in terms of the competitive advantage enjoyed by the latter city.

Shenzhen’s innovative edge also grew organically, out of its migrant-friendly outlook and mature manufacturing ecosystem. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Hangzhou native Frank Wang had been building flight controllers in his dorm room at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he had been studying electronics engineering from 2003.

However, he failed to find a way to mass produce his innovations in Hong Kong.

In 2006, he decided to move to Shenzhen, attracted by its start-up-friendly policies, to start DJI.

“I could only design, I couldn’t produce (in Hong Kong),” Mr Wang said in a 2015 interview with Chinese-language news magazine Yazhou Zhoukan.

“We had to source even a screw from outside. (But) the division of labour provided by suppliers here (in Shenzhen) guarantees that what we get is better and cheaper.”

Today, DJI is the world’s biggest dronemaker, controlling more than 90 per cent of the global consumer market.

The company turned down a request for Mr Wang to be interviewed for this article.

It is not realistic for Hong Kong to try to compete with other cities in terms of manufacturing goods for mass production, Mr Peter Mok, general manager at the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (Ehub), told ST.

He is based in Qianhai, a commercial development zone in Shenzhen, providing support for start-ups seeking to enter the mainland market via Hong Kong, as well as Chinese tech firms trying to expand globally through the financial hub.

Mr Mok, former head of Greater Bay Area with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, said that from his experience in both cities’ start-up scene, Hong Kong was a good nurturing ground to translate innovative ideas into reality in the form of start-ups, while Shenzhen was the best place for such small tech firms to scale up after initial success.

“For tech firms in the region, Shenzhen is the nearest and cheapest place to move production to, with a highly skilled and very young labour force. Engineers, scientists and programmers with strong technical skills are in abundance here,” he said.

Hong Kong’s strategic missteps?

DJI founder Mr Wang’s difficulty in finding a way to mass produce his innovations in Hong Kong stemmed in part from strategic decisions that the city made over the years.

Around the 1990s, Hong Kong’s economy gradually transitioned from a manufacturing-based one to a more service-oriented one, focused on financial and professional services.

The shift came about after the city’s labour and production costs rose as its economy boomed, leading manufacturers to seek out cheaper production bases elsewhere, particularly in mainland China.

But rather than moving its manufacturing up the value chain – such as upgrading factories’ technological capabilities or producing advanced, unique or critical components – Hong Kong chose to almost entirely hollow out the industry.

Former industrialists, like tycoon Li Ka-shing, shut their factories and ventured into more profitable businesses such as real estate and retail.

At the same time, Hong Kong’s elites were also aware that innovation and technology (I&T) could become an important new niche and economic driver.

But the city’s favoured formula of laissez-faire governance would prove a stumbling block in this aspect, losing Hong Kong its vital first-mover advantage.

Bird’s eye view of sprawling Kowloon, and Hong Kong Island across the water. ST PHOTO: MAGDALENE FUNG

Hong Kong’s nascent I&T industry was in the mid-90s identified by the government and academics as a critical sector to develop after economic data pointed to a need for a new growth engine, Professor Tang Heiwai, associate dean of external relations at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Business School, told ST.

Hong Kong acted by setting up the Science Park in Shatin and Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam in the early 2000s to spur tech research and incubate start-ups.

“The idea was to create a network of I&T stakeholders from universities, the scientific community and industrial sector, while the government provided land and facilitated the process,” Prof Tang said.

But a lack of strategic direction from the largely non-interventionist government, and a lack of resources allocated to the endeavour resulted in missed opportunities.

Local developers, unfamiliar with a tech hub’s unique requirements, turned to what they knew best. They built luxury homes and costly office spaces on those sites, whose locations were already deemed inconvenient due to limited transport infrastructure in the vicinity.

The network envisioned hence failed to materialise as start-ups there faced high rents, and low commercial and manufacturing integration to make and promote their products, and often stayed afloat