Asia’s technology industry has seen challenges recently, between new attitudes to work, gradually worsening market conditions, and a growing precariousness of tech jobs. To keep morale high, employee engagement strategies tailored to tech talent are key, says world leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, Hays.
Following the ‘Great Resignation’ and the ‘Great Reshuffling’, the latest buzzword reflecting people’s attitude to work is ‘quiet quitting’, in which employees actively choose to do the bare minimum required to stay employed, instead of going above and beyond at work to exceed expectations.
“The trend speaks to a major mindset change we’ve observed in working professionals that has come out of the pandemic,” Marc Burrage, Managing Director at Hays Asia says. “Many have been re-evaluating their priorities and relationship with work, and are now actively drawing firmer boundaries between their work and personal lives.”
Despite this, workers in Asia continue to demonstrate high levels of motivation. Half (50%) of respondents in a recent survey conducted by Hays agreed that they felt motivated to exceed expectations at work. In contrast, only 16% disagreed, while 34% of respondents took a neutral position.
Yet, latest Hays research focused on the technology industry in Asia found that 36% of Malaysia’s technology workers had left their job between June 2021 and May 2022, citing the lack of career growth and development opportunities as the top reason, alongside the lack of learning opportunities and flexible working options. 38% of technology workers in Malaysia also said they were actively seeking new job opportunities.
Career opportunities are critical to ensuring employee job satisfaction and engagement. “It goes without saying that a disengaged workforce is a critical business issue. Its adverse impact on productivity, problem solving, and customer experience will cost the business and hurt the bottom line in the long run,” Burrage cautions. “Given the growing demand for tech experts in Asia, it is crucial for technology organisations to identify ways to boost morale and engagement and design a winning employee experience.”
Mohammad Qasim, Manager, Technology at Hays Malaysia notes that to do this, it is important to first understand employee priorities. Knowing what is important to them will help determine the factors that motivate them at work.
“Our research shows that salary and benefit package is second to factors like learning opportunities, career growth, and work flexibility when it comes to what drives tech talent in Malaysia to look for a new job. Interestingly, data from the Learning Mindset Report 2022 found that while 39% of tech employees viewed continuous learning as extremely important, only 26% of employers said that they prioritised continuous learning in their company culture.”
To support technology business leaders in the pursuit of better understanding what drives current and prospective technology employees, Hays has recently launched an Asia-wide campaign to poll technology workers and employers on their opinions on various aspects of work, including compensation, flexibility, and purpose. The polls are also designed to identify top hobbies of tech talent, to bring the community closer together. The campaign was launched on September 6th in China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Insights are updated in real-time as data is collected.
As technology recruitment specialists, Hays’ main goal is to prepare technology organisations and workers for the future of work. Gathering the diverse voices of Asia’s technology community is the first step to collecting authentic and immediate insight on key issues related to the world of work that will in time prove useful to tech experts and employers alike.
