Half of all global jobs are poised to change moderately due to AI, and 26% face radical transformation. In Singapore, employers are already using agile talent above global averages, proving that the workforce structure is already changing.
Every job evolves. But the pace of that evolution has changed, and for HR leaders, that shift is reshaping how workforce planning gets done.
“Am I going to recruit people full-time when I actually don’t even know what that job description will be in 18 months?”
– Sinead Bovell, Futurist at Indeed FutureWorks 202
It’s a fair question, and one that, handled well, isn’t a story about fewer jobs. It’s a story about better-designed ones. The leaders facing this shift aren’t asking “how do we do more with less people” they’re asking “how do we build roles where people spend more time on the work that energises them, supported by tools that handle the rest.” That reframe matters, both for the kind of organisation you build and for how your current employees experience this moment.
Why Job Descriptions Need Refreshing More Often
AI is changing what “the job” looks like. So, what does this mean to Singapore employers? Laken Masterson, Vice President of Operations at Indeed, frames this as an opportunity for clarity rather than cuts: by understanding the work itself, task by task. Organisations can ask, “Can AI do this task? Can it be AI-augmented?” The goal, she says, is “a workforce that is a healthy ecosystem of AI-assisted workers, contractors and full-time employees”, not a smaller workforce, but a more thoughtfully composed one.
Designing a Future-proof Workforce Ecosystem
Once tasks are deconstructed, the next question is allocation. A resilient workforce strategy in 2026 typically blends three core components:
- AI-Assisted Tools: Absorbing repetitive, lower-value tasks.
- Agile and Contract Talent: Providing specialised skills and scale exactly when needed.
- Full-Time Employees: Focusing on strategy, mentorship, client relationships, and high-level execution.
Globally, 70% of employers say agile and non-traditional models improve overall workforce wellbeing, and 55% of jobseekers say working in agile roles improves their wellbeing at work. When AI absorbs the repetitive, lower-value parts of a role, what’s left is the work that’s actually engaging- strategy, mentorship, client relationships.
For Singapore specifically, the report’s findings suggest there’s real headroom here. Among employers in Singapore, 55% say they’re using agile talent, slightly above the global average of 53%. Both groups are enthusiastic — 65% of employers would consider hiring agile talent in the future, and jobseekers in Singapore are actually more likely to find agile roles appealing (60%) than traditional roles (52%) — a notable departure from global norms, where traditional roles are usually preferred.
This is the kind of blended hiring Indeed’s hiring solutions for employers are built to support, whether you’re posting a permanent role or sourcing project-based talent quickly through sponsored job listings.
Aligning Policy With How Agile Talent Actually Works
Here’s where strategy meets friction. Singapore has made real progress on workplace flexibility; the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements represent a significant step. But many organisations’ internal policies still lag behind what the new talent ecosystem actually demands.
The data highlights a clear disconnect: while 64% of Singaporean jobseekers say flexible schedules would entice them to take agile roles, only 40% of employers offer them. Similarly, 60% of jobseekers are swayed by remote work, yet just 42% of employers provide it.
Contract experts and specialised freelancers don’t operate on the same rhythms as traditional full-time staff. They often work across multiple engagements, expect outcome-based arrangements rather than fixed-hours presence, and may be based anywhere in the region. If your internal policies on remote work, core hours, equipment provisioning, or even basic onboarding are designed exclusively around the 9-to-6 in-office employee, you’ll struggle to attract or retain the agile talent your task audit says you need.
Singapore’s Opportunity to Lead
There’s a broader story here worth sitting with. Singapore already combines two things many markets don’t have together: progressive labour policies and direct access to deep, diverse regional talent pools across APAC. That combination means Singapore-based organisations aren’t just reacting to the future of work, they’re well-placed to define what agile, AI-augmented workforces look like for the rest of the region.
The CHROs who treat this moment as a design opportunity, not just a planning headache, are the ones who’ll shape that story.
If you’d like support thinking through how flexible and full-time roles can work together for your team, speak with an Indeed hiring specialist, we’re happy to talk through what makes sense for your organisation’s specific situation.
Data sourced from the Indeed Global Talent Report: How Workforce Agility Drives Business Results (Indeed survey with YouGov 2025, N=7,317 jobseekers and 2,966 employers across 12 markets, including 503 Singapore jobseekers and 100 Singapore employers)
