A healthy and happy workforce: The key to attracting talent in 2022
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The latest LinkedIn data reveals what matters most to today’s jobseekers, and offers unique insights into jobseeker trends across Southeast Asia
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“We’re trying to ask people to switch off and make sure they have enough time and balance,” says Ju Min Wong, head of people strategy at Singapore-based company Grab.
Flexibility has also become key to retaining employees, according to an Ipsos survey conducted in 2021. A poll titled ‘Are we ready to be back in office?’ found that 74% of Malaysians wanted to adopt a flexible model permanently – though, interestingly, 64% revealed that they also missed being around their co-workers.
Ipsos Public Affairs associate director Erik Lie told HRD Asia that flexibility was increasingly being perceived as the answer to employee needs, including productivity, engagement and a stress-free environment.
“Employers who fail to understand this need are at risk of losing talents,” Lie said. “Thus, beyond an attractive perk, workplace flexibility will be a default requirement post-pandemic.”
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“We’re trying to ask people to switch off and make sure they have enough time and balance”
Ju Min Wong,
Grab
“Companies stuck in their old ways are going to struggle to hold talent. They’ll be the poster children for the Great Resignation if they’re trying to box their employees into constructs that they don’t want”
Lars Schmidt,
Amplify
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THE PRIORITIES of jobseekers have shifted, and new data from LinkedIn shows that work-life balance, a wellbeing focus and a strong company culture are now the biggest drawcards. While hustle culture may have been the norm for generations, the latest research reveals that employees are now looking to “fit work into their personal lives, as opposed to fitting their personal lives into work”.
These insights come from the 10th edition of LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends report, which spoke to a range of talent professionals worldwide and analysed billions of actions taken on its global platform, as well as data from millions of employee engagement surveys. The resulting research shows that expectations are certainly changing – and with the Great Reshuffle on the horizon, employers need to be paying close attention.
Culture is king, importance of flexibility skyrockets
The LinkedIn report analysed data from across the globe, and its Southeast Asia figures suggest that while this region’s focus on work-life balance isn’t quite as strong as it is worldwide, company culture is a very important factor.
In Southeast Asia, 59% of jobseekers said work-life balance was their top priority (compared to 63% worldwide) when selecting a new job. Company culture came in second, with 43% of respondents selecting it as a priority (40% worldwide).
‘The grind’ gives way to health and wellbeing
Championing health and mental wellbeing has resonated strongly with employees across the world, and most organisations have introduced a slew of new wellbeing benefits. These range from gym memberships to Employee Assistance Programs, to offering training to leaders on how to spot the signs of a struggling employee.
Southeast Asia saw a 189% increase in job posts mentioning “wellbeing” since 2019, notably higher than the global average of +147%. Organisations worldwide also saw a 73% increase in job posts specifically mentioning wellbeing, suggesting that jobseekers are becoming more interested in how important wellbeing is to a prospective employer.
Maintaining a healthy and happy workforce is also becoming increasingly important to business strategy, with US employers losing more than $30bn a year due to sick days and absenteeism. In a survey by Virgin Pulse, 78% of HR professionals said wellbeing was key to their business strategy, and 87% were planning to take steps to improve employee wellbeing in the near future.
All of this points to the inevitable demise of the ‘1 a.m. hero’, and Deloitte chief wellbeing officer Jen Fisher says this mentality is not sustainable for employees or for organisations.
“In the workplace, we shouldn’t value and celebrate the people who stay up all night and burn the midnight oil, because that doesn’t really produce great results for the person or the organisation,” Fisher says. “It’s not a sustainable model.”
To read LinkedIn’s full 2022 Global Talent Trends report for more insights on jobseeker priorities and how organisations can meet their needs, click here.
Allowing employees to work wherever they feel comfortable is a significant part of a successful company culture in Southeast Asia, with LinkedIn recording a huge 132% increase since 2019 in job postings across the region mentioning “flexibility”. (Worldwide, postings increased 83%.) On the flip side, managers also recorded a higher number of employees working longer hours, something they said needed to be addressed as working from home becomes the ‘new normal’.
“Companies stuck in their old ways are going to struggle to hold talent,” Amplify founder Lars Schmidt says. “They’re going to struggle to recruit talent. They’ll be the poster children for the Great Resignation if they’re trying to box their employees into constructs that they don’t want.”
LinkedIn chief people officer Teuila Hanson says the Great Reshuffle is also an opportunity for organisations to think ahead and to foster a culture that employees are happy to be a part of day to day.
“Company culture is swiftly evolving, and to keep up, organisations must innovate and think progressively,” Hanson says.
“We have this singular opportunity to create the culture and circumstances that will allow each employee to do their best work, and to lead their best life.”
Southeast Asian companies saw candidates viewing 1.7 times as many jobs before applying than in 2019, and job ads focusing on flexibility, work-life balance and inclusiveness fared better than those offering challenging work, a fast-paced environment, or a promise of ‘work hard, play hard’.”
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‘An epic talent migration’
The focus on wellbeing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has led employees to rethink many other aspects of their lives – including who they work for and their relationship with their current employer.
Dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Great Reshuffle’, this migration of talent between companies means that employees are out looking for something better, whether that’s a better salary, more benefits, or a healthier and more inclusive culture. LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report notes that “organisations that cling to their old ways may be inviting talent problems”, and turning a blind eye to employee needs will inevitably lead to them looking elsewhere.
Job candidates’ priorities across Southeast Asia
59%
want a good work-life balance
43%
consider company
culture a priority
Job candidates’ priorities
across Southeast Asia
59%
want a good work-life balance
43%
consider company
culture a priority
What LinkedIn users are talking about (2019–21)
362%
increase in posts mentioning ‘flexible work’
35%
increase in posts mentioning ‘wellbeing’
15%
increase in posts mentioning ‘company culture’