Employees in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations prefer not to come back to the same work arrangements they had pre-COVID-19, and now seeking flexibility when it comes to reporting for work.
According to the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, the majority of employees in Southeast Asia would prefer to work anywhere (32 percent), work remotely full time (29 percent), or in a hybrid work arrangement, such as mix of in-office and remote working (23 percent).
The global survey canvassed the views of more than 16,000 employees across 16 countries, including 1,037 respondents across SEA (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines). It explores employee attitudes and experiences to work throughout the pandemic and into the “next normal”.
The survey found out that among SEA respondents, nine in 10 employees want flexibility in where and when they work, in the absence of which more than half (60 percent) would consider leaving their job post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the choice between two jobs, their preferences were evenly split: 49 percent would choose flexibility in when they work and 48 percent would choose flexibility in where they work.
On average, employees would want to work between two and three days remotely after the pandemic, with 35 percent of employees saying they want a shorter working week altogether. The majority (69 percent) believe their productivity can be accurately measured irrespective of location. Yet, there is a strong perception (86 percent) that this arrangement would impact their access to career opportunities.
“Organizations need to understand the ‘new normal’ has not only impacted the way people work, but in fact the very concept of how they can work. Prior to the pandemic, the idea of work-life balance had become a key workforce consideration for companies,” said Lisa Escaler, People Advisory Services – Workforce Advisory Leader for SGV, a Philippine member firm of EY, said.
“But now, especially in the Philippines where employees have been forced to work from home for one of the longest periods of quarantine in the world, people’s perception of traditional workforce models and behaviors have changed drastically. Organizations will now need to include workforce transformation strategies in their post-pandemic planning,” she added.