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Success Stories
DSO
 About DSO National Laboratories
DSO National Laboratories is Singapore's national defence research and development organisation. As one of Singapore’s top research institutions, DSO fuses its multi-disciplinary expertise to develop secret-edge technological surprises for our nation’s defence. Many of the mission-critical systems in the Singapore Armed Forces today bear the invisible imprint of its work, across the domains of air, land, sea and cyberspace.
Out of a workforce of close to 1,500 staff, the organisation has over 1,000 research scientists and engineers. DSO’s people and their passion for their work are the organisation’s cornerstones to developing innovations that transform Singapore from the ‘Little’, to the ‘Lethal’ Red Dot. Thus, retaining talent is key to DSO’s success.
DSO National Laboratories was awarded the Work-Life Achiever Award 2008.
| Leave Benefit - Family Care Leave and Child Sick Leave |
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On top of statutory leave, every staff is entitled to 2 days of family care leave per calendar year.
Family care leave was implemented to encourage staff to spend more time with their families, as well as provide them the flexibility to attend to family emergencies. In addition, employees with children are entitled to 5 days of child sick leave per year for each child under 7 years of age, up to a maximum of 15 days per year.
DSO also provides compassionate, marriage, paternity, sabbatical and examination leave.
Ensuring Employees’ Well-Being
By implementing strategies that promote worklife harmony, DSO aims to increase staff morale, and has seen a corresponding increase in employee satisfaction over the years. Surveys conducted annually showed that staff are likely to continue working in DSO and would recommend others to join the company.
To address the issue of sick leave among staff, DSO noted that influenza was a common reason for its employees’ ill health. It then instituted a wellness programme to provide staff with free flu vaccinations, which was well-received. |
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| Flexible Work Arrangements – Flexi Hours |
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DSO staff can seek approval from their supervisors to start work at 8am, 8.30am or 9am. The company’s operating hours also end half an hour earlier on Friday than on other weekdays. These flexi-hour arrangements have helped the staff to better manage their schedules, and balance both work and personal responsibilities.
DSO supervisors are also empowered to respond to their staff’s requests for no-pay leave, flexible working hours and part-time employment. Employees need not fill up time-consuming hard copy forms, but can send their requests directly to their supervisors for approval via email. |
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 DSO’s Recreation Committee organises more than 60 activities each year, categorised into wellness, enrichment, sports, and special events.
Some of these activities are open to staff’s family members. Highlights include the Dinner & Dance, Family Day, National Day Celebration, Chinese New Year Celebration, as well as free movie screenings, health snack giveaways and recreational lunchtime talks. |
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Employee Quote
DSO research engineer, Ms Lee Chow Ying’s passionate pursuit off work is in ice-skating. She is a national ice skater with multiple local and international medals.
Said Chow Ying, “I’m grateful to my supervisor, who allows me to start work later on training days, so that I can train on the ice rink during off-peak hours when it is less crowded.”
To find out more about DSO, please visit: http://www.dso.org.sg
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