Employees in Singapore and India want more from their careers/employers
Even amidst the current global turmoil, it is great to see people not losing all hope and keeping their career aspirations/priorities intact, to whatever extent possible. It is also good to see that people are taking a more proactive stance towards managing their career.
A survey conducted in Singapore by Adecco Personnel in February 2009 reveals the following:
- 16% of respondents are looking for a new job due to inadequate development opportunities at their current workplace
- 12% of jobseekers are hoping to go into a growth industry before the economy picks up
- None of the respondents cited inadequate compensation as a reason to move. Lynne Ng, regional director for Adecco South East Asia, believes this shows jobseekers have “a level of maturity in relation to current market conditions” These jobseekers are looking for “careers where they can develop their talents and need not worry about downsizing or retrenchment”
- 38% of respondents would be happy at work or even stop job-hunting altogether, if they felt they had adequate job security
- 20% of respondents say that some form of job scope expansion would be good enough to retain them. Other factors which could persuade these jobseekers to stay include having a good relationship with co-workers (14%), good bosses (12%) and desirable commuting and work hours (10%)
In another survey conducted recently by Kelly Services, which surveyed nearly 100,000 people in 34 countries - employees in India say they derive a greater sense of pride and self-confidence in their jobs than workers in any other country.
Some highlights of the responses from India are below:
- 94% said their work gives them a sense of pride, while 92% said it raises their self-confidence.
- A significant number of people are actually prepared to give up some of their salary and their position if they can do something that is important and meaningful to them and their organisation,” Kelly Services Asia-Pacific senior vice-president Dhirendra Shantilal said in the report
- 62% of male workers and 60% of female workers are concerned about career prospects, and are looking for alternative jobs
Source: Sandbox Advisors, Kelly, Adecco, HR magazine
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Interesting!
Very informative article. Self-esteem has always been linked to employment, whether or not is a good thing. It's natural to see employees in both regions seeking job stability in this economic climate and downplay the importance of salary, but until quite recently, in India higher pay was usually all the incentive one needed to switch firms. It's heartening to see that non-financial incentives can address deeper employee needs and maybe, just maybe result in a win-win for both employer and employee during the few years they come together.
Yes KM, the non-financial incentive part is something that is catching on in India/Asia. Historically, there has been much more focus on income and prestige offered by the job. While this is still the case to quite an extent, there are many people who understand that work can be both fun and financially viable. A lot of credit for this probably goes to the Millenium generation (mid/late seventees - mid/late ninetees) entering the workforce. Since they have seen mainly boom times, they could focus on higher level needs. The recession will stall such thinking for a while but hopefully it bounces back as things start looking up. I plan to write an article on this topic soon, so do look out for it.
Amit