Retiree Fatimah Kalip delivers food every weekday, twice a day. Unlike other food delivery workers dressed in green, pink or teal though, she wears whatever she likes, and she takes her time – after all, she only delivers up to 10 packets of food a day, and only to needy seniors living within walking distance of her flat in Bedok.
Twice daily for lunch and dinner, the 68-year-old heads to a nearby active ageing centre where catered food packs are waiting. She begins her rounds, knocking on doors so she can hand off the packets of food to recipients physically.
With time to spare – she only needs to deliver the food within a couple of hours, so they remain fresh – she makes an effort to chat with her fellow seniors, ask about their day, and remind them to take their medication.
She is one of many seniors now working micro-jobs at Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities’ (THKMC) active ageing centres, where participating seniors complete simple tasks in service of fellow silvers while receiving a nominal fee for their trouble. Seniors like Fatimah receive $1 per task, whether that be delivering a meal or reminding them to take their medication.
The micro-job scheme was developed by non-profit Centre for Seniors (CFS) in collaboration with the Agency of Integrated Care (AIC), along with other elder-focused organisations managing active ageing centres like Lions Befrienders and THKMC. Monetary support is provided by the Tote Board Community Health Fund.
It is one of the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at engaging Singapore’s ageing population with a growing network of active ageing centres, set to almost double in number from 119 to 220 by 2025.
According to Dylan Chew, Executive, Human Resource at THKMC, the organisation counted nearly 22,000 tasks completed in the first seven months since the scheme was piloted in January – an average of 3100 tasks per month.
The number grew to almost 10,000 per month after the scheme was launched proper in August and rolled out to 11 of their 18 active ageing centres around the island.
THKMC now has a force of more than 100 seniors completing micro-jobs. Meanwhile, Lions Befrienders, who started recruiting after the launch in August, boasts a smaller crew of about 10 micro-jobbers spread across four active ageing centres.
Ease of tasks given, flexibility in schedule and a manageable workload were all reasons why seniors interviewed by SilverStreak have embraced the micro-job scheme.
Shue Teng Lee, 72, is one of the pioneer “micro-jobbers”, having participated in the scheme at THKMC’s active ageing centre in MacPherson since it was first piloted.
Like Fatimah, he delivers meals and reminds seniors to take their medicine – both tasks that he says are more suited for a “retired person” compared to his previous job as a counsellor.
Lim Eng Kiew, a 71-year-old micro-jobber at Lions Befriender’s active ageing centre under Block 499C in Tampines, concurs, saying that delivering her allotment of “three to four packets of food” at once is “very easy” even for “someone with pain in their backs and legs” like her.
This light workload is not uncommon, as demand for meal deliveries fluctuates depending on location. Joseph Chong, a fellow micro-jobber at a nearby Lions Befrienders active ageing centre in Block 494E, Tampines, delivers just two packets of food a day, to one resident.
This makes taking leave from micro-jobs due to medical appointments or holidays easy, as their tasks will simply be split among other micro-jobbers.
Social interactions with other seniors and the satisfaction derived from completing micro-jobs were some of the other perks cited by silver micro-jobbers.
Apart from nudging seniors to exercise and interact with others, the organisations hope that the scheme will also enhance seniors’ sense of meaning when they reclaim their time.
Over the course of the year, THKMC has expanded the scope of its micro-jobs to include ad-hoc tasks at selected active ageing centres, paid at $2 per hour.
Novel micro-jobs include the facilitation of bingo games and karaoke sessions, as well as cooking for the community.
THKMC plans to offer more micro-jobs moving forward, beginning from January next year with a medical escort service. Other tasks in the pipeline include “light housekeeping for senior or disabled residents and simple vital signs monitoring”.
To facilitate these tasks, training will be provided by in-house THKMC nurses and nursing aides. THKMC is also making plans with CFS to create a one-day workshop for medical escorts.
Meanwhile, Lions Befrienders is looking to expand the micro-job scheme to other active ageing centres with a greater variety of “suitable jobs”, in line with seniors’ interests and capabilities.
Senior micro-jobbers interviewed were all satisfied with the nominal remuneration, recognising that the scheme wasn’t never meant to replace employment.
Like active ageing centres, micro-jobs provide one avenue for seniors to remained engaged, empowered and part of the community should they choose to.
It also eases the dire manpower crunch facing many non-profit organisations, as simple tasks can be off-loaded to micro-jobbers (instead of robots) freeing up time for staff to focus on topline concerns.
Opinion: Micro-Jobs For Seniors Provide Engagement, Not Employment – And That’s Okay
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Micro-jobs attractive due to flexibility and ease of tasks
Fulfilment and social engagement are other rewards
Personal development in the cards
Let micro-jobs stay micro
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