Phua Jia Yang, Manager (People Experience), People & Culture Group, Public Service Division (PSD), Singapore

1) What does public service mean to you? Can you share more about your role in the public sector?

Public service means a lot to me because it has shaped my entire professional journey since graduation.

It is where I learnt that meaningful work is not just about delivering outcomes at the system-level, but also about improving the lives and experiences of people in tangible ways.

In my role at the Public Service Division under the People and Culture Group (PCG), I drive work, workplace and workforce transformation efforts to help build a more future ready Public Service.

My work sits at the intersection of people, design and technology. This includes strengthening employee experiences, shaping workplace culture, driving engagement initiatives, and exploring new ways of working that better support officers in an increasingly fast changing environment.

I am also grateful to be in a team and cluster that is open to trying new ideas and approaches, which has given me many opportunities to experiment, learn and grow.

2) Tell us about a project you championed. What impact did it have on the community?

One project I championed was a campaign called 3D: Defer, Drop, Do Differently.

The idea came about during COVID, when workloads across the Public Service increased significantly.

Officers had to rethink how to work and collaborate in a virtual environment, while also dealing with multiple online meetings and the blurring of work life boundaries.

While workload reviews were commonly used to tackle the issue, I felt that we also needed to  address the deeper cultural aspects behind how work was being approached.

Through 3D, we encouraged teams to have open conversations about what work could be deferred, dropped, or done differently.

More importantly, we wanted to create psychological safety for officers to speak honestly about workload challenges and rethink long standing ways of working.

The impact was encouraging. Clusters across PSD eventually had 3D conversations within  their teams and committed to their own 3D actions.

This helped teams better prioritise what truly mattered, identify outdated processes that were no longer relevant, and open up new possibilities around technology and AI-enabled ways of working.

What stayed with me most were the moments when colleagues I had never met before came up to thank our team for driving the campaign and shared how much it had helped them become more effective at work.

That was when I realised transformation is not always about massive change. Sometimes, it starts with giving people the opportunity and platform to rethink the way work is done.

3) As a young professional, how has your unique background or perspective allowed you to identify a solution that others in your organisation might have overlooked?

When I first joined the public service as a fresh graduate, I often found myself asking why certain things were done a certain way and whether there were opportunities to do things differently.

One example was a project called ComfortSPACE, which focused on elevating the sense of  comfort and ease within PSD through the redesigning of our corporate apparel experience. 

While corporate apparel is usually seen as something functional and standardised, I felt there was an opportunity to make it something that officers could genuinely feel proud to wear and identify with.

I borrowed an idea commonly used in the retail space which is customisation. Together with the team, we created cute lifestyle-inspired iron on patches that officers could creatively customise onto their corporate apparel.

What was once just standard issue attire became something officers could make uniquely theirs.

What I found meaningful was that the project became more than just about apparel. It became symbolic of how we work in PSD.

Even though we all work towards the same organisational goals, every officer brings different perspectives, personalities and ways of thinking to the table.

The customisations reflected that individuality while still maintaining a shared corporate 
identity.

I think this experience reinforced for me the value of looking beyond conventional approaches 
and drawing inspiration from different industries and everyday experiences.

Sometimes, small and thoughtful changes can go a long way in shaping culture, belonging and pride within an organisation.

4) What is your personal strategy for maintaining your creative energy when faced with bureaucracy?

A lot of it is about reframing my mindset.

If I treat bureaucracy not as an impediment but as just one of the many elements in the equation, that expands the problem statement and opens up more possibilities for creative thinking.

It also becomes far more meaningful because it pushes me to think more deeply about 
implementation, stakeholder needs and long-term sustainability.

Personally, I try to protect my creative energy by staying curious. I draw inspiration from outside the public sector, whether through my love for gaming, badminton, or even unique day-to-day experiences.

Sometimes the best ideas come from observing how people interact, communicate and solve problems in entirely different spaces.

5) If you had just one area to invest in to accelerate transformation in the public sector (regulation, technology, talent, etc.), which one would you choose and why?

I would invest in the adaptability of public officers.

Technology and systems will continue to evolve, but transformation only succeeds if people are able and willing to adapt alongside these changes.

Beyond technical skills, adaptability is really about curiosity, resilience and being comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-changing world

6) What is your greatest ambition as you grow in your public service career?

I hope to continue contributing meaningfully to a public service that remains trusted, forward looking and deeply human.

Beyond specific projects or initiatives, I hope to leave behind systems, cultures and experiences that continue creating positive impact long after I move on from them. 

I also hope to continue growing alongside good people, learning from them and hopefully creating opportunities for others the same way many seniors and mentors have done for me.

7) What is a “universal value” that connects everyone in your department – from interns to directors – and how do you use that to drive collaboration?

I think the value of service stands out the most. Not just in terms of the work we do, but in the 
everyday interactions we have with one another.

You see it in supervisors checking in on colleagues during difficult periods, teammates stepping forward to support one another, and interns going the extra mile because they genuinely want to contribute meaningfully.

This shared sense of service creates trust and makes collaboration much easier, because people are ultimately aligned around doing what is best for Singapore and the Public Service.

8) What is the best piece of advice you’ve got for the next generation of public servants?

Do not underestimate the power of curiosity.

Some of the most meaningful opportunities in my career started simply because I asked questions, explored new ideas or volunteered to try something outside my comfort zone.

Most importantly, never lose sight of the human aspect of Public Service. At the heart of every policy, system or initiative are people, and staying connected to that purpose is what makes the work meaningful.

9) What is a myth you wish to debunk about young public servants?

One myth is that young public servants are overly idealistic without understanding operational realities.

In my experience, many young officers understand very well that public sector work comes with complexity, trade-offs and constraints.

What younger officers often bring, however, is a different perspective that is shaped by growing up in a digital and fast-changing world.

The best outcomes usually happen when fresh perspectives and institutional wisdom come together, rather than being seen as opposites.

10) Write a letter to your future self in 2035. Please keep it within 200 words.

Dear older (and hopefully wiser) Jia Yang,

I hope you are still doing work that gives you purpose and surrounding yourself with good people.

Right now, things probably feel uncertain sometimes, but I hope you never forget why you started this journey in the first place.

Keep believing in yourself, especially during difficult seasons. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

I hope you stayed curious, stayed grounded, and never became too comfortable to keep learning.

More importantly, I hope you continued treating people with kindness and remembering that behind every piece of work are real people and real lives.

Maybe not everything turned out the way you imagined, and that is okay too. I just hope you kept trying, kept growing and kept showing up.

And hopefully, you are still having fun along the way.

Your 2026 self