While 72 percent of Filipino employees feeling trusted and empowered by management, only 59 percent of local workers trust their employers and feel supported, according to a new survey which highlights workplace tensions globally with over 39 percent of employees in Southeast Asia (SEA) are likely to quit their current jobs in the next 12 months for better wellbeing programs, more competitive salary packages, and greater career advancement opportunities.

The EY 2023 Work Reimagined Survey released Friday, Dec. 15, fourth in the series, which canvassed the views of 17,050 employees and 1,575 employers across 22 countries and 25 industry sectors globally. These include 1,050 employees and 200 employers from SEA, covering Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. SGV & Co. is a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

Based on the survey, over a third (39%) of employees in South East Asia (SEA) (global 34%) are likely to quit their current jobs in the next 12 months for better wellbeing programs, more competitive salary packages, and greater career advancement opportunities.

Pay remains Southeast Asian employees’ top worry (SEA 39%, global 36%), followed by maintaining fairness for jobs requiring fixed locations or schedules (SEA 30%, global 20%) and workplace flexibility (SEA 26%, global 25%).

In the Philippines, Rossana A. Fajardo, SGV & Co Consulting Leader and EY ASEAN Business Consulting Leader, emphasized that based on the survey only 59 percent of employees trust their employers and feel supported, despite 72 percent feeling trusted and empowered by management. “The evolving work landscape underscores the importance for organizations to reassess their talent strategy, aligning it with flexible work approaches. This involves empowering individuals while aligning with business objectives and fostering a culture of trust. Establishing trust entails transparency and evaluating behaviors and outcomes through diverse data sources, facilitating a transition from an individualistic mindset to a more sustainable collective "we" mindset that enhances team collaboration,” said Fajardo.

For employers in SEA, they too prioritize pay (SEA 36%, global 31%), maintaining fairness for jobs with fixed locations or schedules (SEA 32%, global 24%) and workplace flexibility (SEA 32%, global 29%) as key talent concerns. This highlights that employees and employers in SEA are aligned on what matters to them.

But the survey also finds a disconnect between employee and employer expectations in SEA. Almost two-thirds of employers (SEA 62%, global 57%) believe that slower economic growth reduces employees’ likelihood to quit. However, only 55 percent of SEA employees (global 47%) agree, leaving employers at risk of underestimating the continued fluidity of the labor market.

Another disconnect between employee and employer perspectives is the gap between their optimism about leadership alignment on new ways of working. They survey showed that 89 percent of SEA employers (global 74%) agree managers and leadership are aligned on areas like work schedule, time off and remote and hybrid work, but only 67% of employees (global 55%) agree.

Nevertheless, a silver lining emerges for organizations that demonstrate qualities of empathetic leadership. More than half of employees in SEA trust and feel supported by their employers (SEA 62%, global 54%), and agree they are well-informed about changes in the organization like new policies and benefits (SEA 64%, global 56%). These observations signal there is a strong opportunity to bridge the divide.

Samir Bedi, EY Asean Workforce Advisory Leader, noted that even with the current weaker economic outlook, more than a third of SEA employees are still looking to change jobs in search of better wellbeing programs that fit their post-pandemic life and priorities, as well as better pay to keep up with inflation.

With this scenario, Bedi said, “Employers need to preserve their critical talent by co-creating the future of the organization with strategies that reflect employees’ priorities and ultimately build trust and increase retention.”

While new patterns of work have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it comes to balance of power in the workplace, respondents in SEA view employers as still having more influence and control than employees over issues like rewards, retention and ways of working.

Prior to the pandemic, 55 percent of SEA respondents (global 54%) agreed that balance of power in the workplace was in the employers’ favor. This dipped slightly to 53 percent in 2022 (global 44%), and further reduced to 50% today (global 45%), revealing that fewer respondents in SEA and globally believe employers have a greater sphere of influence in the workplace today than before the pandemic.

The survey also found that over half (55%) of SEA employers (global 40%) are supportive of their employees adopting a fully remote work arrangement or coming to the office no more than once a week.

This is good news for knowledge workers, whose work is traditionally based primarily on using analysis or subject expertise in a professional office setting. Flexibility is now a baseline expectation, with only 8% of SEA knowledge workers (global 7%) willing to work fully in the office. These knowledge workers are pulled toward in-office engagements that are centered around staying socially connected (SEA 39%, global 37%), requirement to be at the workplace (SEA 37%, global 24%), and building and maintaining relationships (SEA 34%, global 29%).

Workplace amenities and space design do not move the needle when it comes to employees’ desire to head to the office. However, the survey finds that investment in high-quality real estate is positively correlated with a range of other workforce outcomes including better operational support for flexible work arrangements, productivity and retention.

“SEA employers have evidently picked the lessons learned from the pandemic when it comes to redefining the future of work and transforming the office space. In supporting the shift to remote working and encouraging hybrid working arrangements, employers are also reaping the benefits of higher productivity levels. At the same time, as the office remains a place for employees to deliver workforce outcomes, employers should not ignore its role and should continue to make improvements, so that employees can still look forward to coming in, no matter the number of days,” he added.

On new technologies, particularly generative artificial intelligence, the survey showed of growing momentum and a generally positive outlook on how the technology will impact new ways of working.

One of the survey findings is that 64 percent of SEA employees (global 48%) anticipate GenAI will improve working flexibility and 71 percent (global 49%) are currently using or planning to use GenAI within the next 12 months.

For SEA, employers mirror these sentiments, with 86 percent (global 67%) expecting GenAI to enhance working flexibility, and 94 percent (global 84%) currently using or planning to use the technology within the next year.

However, despite both employees and employers ranking learning and skills as the number one factor to ensure employees thrive in new ways of working, only 25 percent of SEA employers (global 22%) plan to provide training on GenAI-related skills.

Bedi says: “It is promising to see that more than half of both SEA employees and employers are aware of the benefits of GenAI in the workplace. While nearly all employers are currently using or planning to use GenAI in the next year, actual implementation will be a challenge. There is still a huge mismatch when it comes to upskilling and reskilling the workforce. To drive any form of successful transformation, it is critical to keep humans at the center, otherwise the adoption of technologies like GenAI will remain in proof-of-concept mode.”