Highest ever work-life balance priority

The latest Randstad Employer Brand Research has revealed that employees in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia still have a high preference for salary and benefits when looking for an employer but work-life balance preference is now at an all-time high. Hong Kong employees aged between 25 and 44 have now become the first demographic in all three countries to have placed work-life balance as their highest priority, surpassing salary preference for the first time. A pleasant work environment is also now much less of a concern as the importance of job security has risen highlighting changing priorities of employees over the past year.

 Work-life balance

Salary and benefits have long been the single most important factor for employees when looking at companies they would like to work for and this year’s Randstad Employer Brand Research results are no different. In Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the importance of work-life balance has continued to rise to take the position of second most important attractiveness factor in all three markets.

The gap between salary and work-life balance has closed. In both Singapore and Hong Kong, salary and work-life balance were separated by just a few percentage points whereas in previous years the gap was as high as 16%. In Malaysia, the gap closed by 10% since last year’s report

Hong Kong employees, aged 25 to 44, broke all previous records and set a new standard by placing work-life balance as the number one most attractive attribute over salary and benefits —in a country notorious for having long working hours. This is the first time any demographic has not placed salary and benefits at the number one attribute in Singapore, Hong Kong or Malaysia.

 Peace of mind on the rise

Job security jumped in the rankings to become the third most important attractiveness factor in Singapore and Hong Kong, knocking down the highly sought after attribute of pleasant working atmosphere which dropped substantially in preference. This comes following global economic uncertainty and news of retrenchments throughout last year. Surprisingly, job security in Malaysia dropped 9% from last year when it came in as the third most attractive factor.

 Confidence in management

While strong management has never been a top attractiveness factor, results this year have shown a jump in preference across Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. In Malaysia, the jump in preference for strong management was high enough for it to tie in third place with career progression which was driven in particular by female employee sentiment.

Michael Smith, Managing Director, Randstad Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia noted, “It’s no secret that work-life balance has been of growing importance for employees around the world. However, the region has always had a much higher importance placed on salary and benefits. This year is the first time that we are noticing such a major shift in sentiment, so much so that Hong Kong employees aged 25 to 44 preferred work-life balance over salary and benefits. This once again highlights the extreme importance of keeping the dialogue between organisations and employees open, honest and frequent.”

Smith added, “Job security has also made a big jump in preference in Singapore and Hong Kong, undoubtedly caused from last year’s economic uncertainty and retrenchments. However, global Q1 GDP growth showcased that the worst seems to be over with moderate improvement and in this region, China’s GDP expanded 6.9% year-on-year. This could very possible lower the preference for job security as confidence grows in the economy.”