71% of workers desire a stable job with a good work/life balance

According to a recent from Seek’s Jobstreet and JobsDB the Boston Consulting Group and the Network, 2023 will remain a jobseekers’ market in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, despite a possible economic slowdown.

The study, which surveyed 97,324 respondents in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, found that 34% of talent surveyed are actively looking for a new job.

The top three motivations for searching for a new job are: looking for a more interesting position or higher seniority (49%), lacking opportunities for upward career progress at current place (30%) and unsatisfied with salary and benefits at current job (27%).

According to the study, workers feel confident to look out for new opportunities despite fears of recession as majority surveyed are aware of their attractiveness to employers. It also found that 74% of talent around the region are approached multiple times per year about new job opportunities, and 36% of those are approached every month. In Singapore, these numbers are equally high at 75% and 31% respectively. In addition, 70% of the region’s respondents and 62% of Singaporeans feel that they are in a strong negotiating position when looking for a job.

Peter Bithos, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, Seek, commented: “When faced with a possible recession, the balance of power in the labour market tends to shift towards employers as hiring tightens. However, we believe the situation is different this time as many organisations in Asia are still recovering from the jobs lost during the pandemic. While hiring growth may slow down during times of uncertainty, there is no doubt that it is still a jobseekers’ market right now, and so it’s important for employers to know how to attract, recruit and retain talent.”

Among top priorities, the study found that 71% of workers stated that they desire, above all, a stable job with a good work-life balance. This preference is dominant across job roles, countries, and age groups.

This is in line with jobseekers’ deal breakers​ when​ looking for a new role, with 17% citing work-life balance as a deal breaker, ranking second only after financial compensation (22%). The amount of paid time off and job security is also important to jobseekers, with both categories ranking third.

The report showed that those working in IT roles are the most coveted talent across Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, as they are frequently approached with job opportunities on a weekly and monthly basis.

“Despite the waves of layoffs by tech companies in the region and around the world, the demand for tech talent still remains based on the report’s findings. This is consistent with Seek’s observation of a 29% YoY (2021 vs 2022) increase in job ads for tech roles in the region, based on data from our JobStreet and JobsDB platforms,” added Bithos.