74% of workers in Thailand will consider giving up higher pay for the opportunity to learn new skills, 56% for a more flexible schedule and 78% for improved work-life balance.
Although pay is a key driver for talent attractive and retention, it weighs below personal fulfillment, professional growth and work-life balance. This percentage is considerably above average.
This is higher compared to more than two-thirds of employees in the Asia Pacific region who say they would consider sacrificing higher pay or career advancement for the opportunity to learn new skills, 65% for improved work-life balance, 48% for a more flexible work schedule, and 37% for the chance to perform more socially conscious work.
The Kelly Global Workforce Index (KGWI) surveyed approximately 230,000 people across 31 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.
In Asia Pacific, 78% of those surveyed are willing to move for the right job and 21% are willing to move to another country. The preferred destination for those in Asia Pacific to relocate is Europe, nominated by 33%, followed by other parts of Asia Pacific (26%), North America (17%), Middle East (5%), South America (2%) and Africa (1%).
In order to attract and retain high-performing talent, firms need to go beyond offering competitive pay, a good work-life balance and advancement opportunities. The survey also canvassed employee views about the preferred organisation to work for in terms of size, geographic presence and style of management.
In terms of geographic footprint, 23% of Asia Pacific respondents had no preference, but 62% would prefer to work for a global company. Only 14% wanted to work for a national or regional firm. As for company size, two-thirds prefer large or mid-sized firms, while only 8% prefer small businesses.
There is a strong preference for employers with an established track record, and reluctance to work for start-up businesses and ‘micropreneurs’.
When it comes to management style, 62% of employees in Asia Pacific strongly prefer collaboration and 60% value flexible work arrangements. Least appealing are firms with highly individualised structures and traditional ‘nine-to-five’ schedules.
Complete findings are published in a new report, Worker Preferences and Workplace Agility. http://bit.ly/1tPL30d