Excessive Labour Turnover: The Case of Clerical Staff in Singapore

Advances some hypotheses to explain why there is an excess demand for clerical staff and why the labour market seems to be unable to arrive at an equilibrium through an adjustment in wages. Discusses the hypotheses in relation to two specific cases. The observations which arise from the discussion are: (1) wages are not fully flexible to clear the clerical market owing to the constraints imposed by the need for wage relativity and the existing salary structures; (2) the organization which faces the greater constraint in manpower will have greater incentive to change job descriptions to overcome the manpower constraint; and (3) the restructuring of the duties of clerical staff will affect the work pattern of non‐clerical staff, and the capable administrative entrepreneur will make the necessary adjustments which will enable his organization to function smoothly.