The article, 'Wanted: Jobs with work-life balance' (Sept13), highlights an important need in our society today.

However, I am concerned that the article perpetuates a common misconception about work-life balance: That staff wellness programmes such as healthy canteen food or mental health workshops constitute employer support for work-life balance.

I find the article overly optimistic when it declared: 'Increasingly, Singaporeans...are putting more emphasis on life beyond work. The good news is, so are many employers.' This is followed by examples of 'enlightened' employers who provide employee wellness programmes such as gym memberships, health talks and grooming classes.

As a certified work-life consultant, I would like to point out that none of these 'wellness' initiatives actually tackles the problem of overwork faced by employees.

For an overworked individual, perks such as gym memberships and health talks give mere lip ser-vice to the ideal of work-life flexi-bility, and in fact become a joke when an individual's work sche-dule does not permit him to enjoy these perks.

The real solution to overwork and the lack of work-life balance begins with evaluating the individual's workload and exploring options such as job redesign, workflow reconfiguration and other concrete measures that result in a healthier, more resilient employee and a more robust system.

In the larger context, the need for work-life balance goes beyond the needs of the individual.

Based on demographic and sociological trends, work-life flexibility is set to become the next big thing in talent management.

In a 24/7 world where business demands have increased exponentially, individuals are standing by their right to have a life outside of work.

As a nation, Singapore wants to win the global war for talent. If we are serious about this, we cannot afford not to take work-life flexibility seriously. It is, in fact, our best competitive advantage in attracting the best global talent.

Cheryl Liew-Chng (Ms)

This article was first published in The Straits Times.