The layoff call came without warning, shattering more than 20 years of career building in one fell swoop. One moment, I was the Senior Vice President, planning and managing a team of 20 marketers for Singapore’s consumer banking business; the next, I was packing up my desk and receiving hushed, reluctant farewells from my colleagues.
I was just shy of reaching my fourth anniversary with the company. However, countless late nights and sacrificed weekends culminated in vain after that fateful call.
I wasn’t the newest hire, nor the highest-paid employee, and certainly not the least essential. Despite my experience and efforts, my value was reduced to a number that was eliminated to improve the company’s financial position.
The shock didn’t just affect me emotionally, but left me in a mid-career existential crisis with the realisation that no amount of corporate loyalty can keep you safe from the chopping block.
How Singapore’s younger workforce is fighting back
Ironically, Singapore’s been witnessing a slow uptrend in unemployment since 2023 despite its labour market growing. The tech sector, which once promised strong growth after the pandemic, is now one of the leading industries in terms of layoffs. As a result, a climate of uncertainty and anxiety is building among professionals at all career stages.
Young Gen Z and millennial tech professionals are slowly realising that corporate loyalty does not equate to job security, and are taking control of their career trajectories. Now, they prioritise work-life balance and career flexibility, which manifests into embracing sabbaticals, “micro-retirement” and alternative working models to maximise their overall wellbeing.
For Singapore’s tech sector, the ripple effects are starting to take shape. Traditional tech careers usually followed linear, predictable trajectories: developer to tech lead to CTO, or marketing associate to marketing manager to CMO. Now, more tech professionals are intentionally carving out multiple career paths, developing their expertise across multiple projects simultaneously.
Younger workers are demanding for more meaningful work, to see the direct impact of their efforts and alignment between their values and what employees stand for. One of the fractional talents helping my company, Glenna Fong, is one such example.
With over 15 years of experience in media, business development, and content strategy, Glenna moved away from a stable traditional corporate role to become a Web3 token co-founder and digital pet care platform partner, while still offering fractional marketing services to young tech startups.
Flexibility is the future of work
The unprecedented adoption of “working from home” a few years ago has fundamentally altered how we look at work. As a result, what were once considered niche like remote work, project-based contracts and freelancing have evolved from mere buzzwords into viable mainstream alternatives, allowing working professionals to reassess their definition of work.
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After my retrenchment, I decided to turn towards fractional work and founded Mad About Marketing Consulting (MAMC), a fractional marketing consultancy that provides tech companies with highly experienced marketing teams on a part-time basis.
I’ve been able to step in as a part-time CMO for startups, challenging my skillsets in supporting each business’ own goals while also ensuring that these businesses receive the qualified expertise needed in order to grow, scale and compete in Singapore’s increasingly competitive landscape.
What started as a response to my personal setback has now evolved into a model that can benefit both employers and employees that seek autonomy and impact. For startups, this immensely helps keep business costs lean, tapping into strategic expertise without incurring any executive overheads. For fractional professionals, this increases the learning velocity while reducing the risk of becoming obsolete.
A need to adapt and re-assess hiring processes
So, what does this mean for tech startups who are on the hunt for tech talent? They need to re-examine how they hire and retain these workers that look for flexibility and meaning in their professional and personal lives. Startups that can redesign their organisational structure would be able to thrive in the long-run.
Blended teams represent a promising model for startups. These hybrid structures allow permanent employees who know the ins and outs of the startup to collaborate effectively with fractional specialists. Successful clients that we’ve worked with focus on communication and cross-functional teamwork, ensuring that neither team or any department in the startup is functioning in silo.
Additionally, I strongly advocate for building flexibility and autonomy into the startup’s organisational DNA from day one. Those who democratise information access and focus on making communication dynamic result in working environments that value every individual contribution regardless of hierarchy, seniority or experience.
Also Read: Southeast Asia’s travel tech boom: The startups powering a US$73B industry
Finding security and value in a world without guarantees
My last day in my corporate job seemed like an abrupt ending, when in truth marked the beginning of something more resilient and fulfilling than what any corporate role can offer.
Building a personal brand and robust professional network is your true safety net when building your fractional career. In the fractional economy, visibility creates opportunity. My first few clients at MAMC came through friends and relationships that I have cultivated in my over 20 years in marketing. Today, MAMC successfully serves multiple startups that value our team’s expertise while fuelling our growth.
For Singapore’s tech ecosystem to thrive amid global competition, both startups and professionals must embrace this shifting reality. The question isn’t wondering if alternative work models will be the future, but on how quickly the workforce can adapt to new norms of work where meaning and flexibility are valued.
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