Tiffany CondeAt a time when the global conversation about work is inching closer to the four-day work week and encouraging more employees to use all of their paid vacation days, a new survey from research and analytics company Milieu Insight looks into the key factors that produce the happiest and least happy workers in Southeast Asia.
The “Happiness at Work” survey has compiled its data from the answers of 6,800 working professionals from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines to understand what employees value in a workplace that has been altered by the pandemic.
What workplace happiness looks like across Southeast Asia
Image credit: Thought Catalog
According to the survey, employees in Thailand suffered the biggest drop in workplace satisfaction levels, with 44% of respondents claiming to be more unhappy with work in 2021. On the other hand, 44% of respondents in Indonesia and 42% of respondents in the Philippines claim that they are happier working today than a year ago.
Meanwhile, 43% of respondents in Malaysia and 41% of respondents in Singapore feel that their level of happiness at work has not significantly changed since last year.
A good salary and relationship between colleagues are the biggest reasons people are happy at work
The “Happiness at Work” survey reveals that the overall happiness and unhappiness levels of employees in Southeast Asia are affected by the following factors:
1. Salary
2. Relationships with colleagues or other employees
3. Current working arrangement
4. Available opportunities for growth
5. Company benefits
6. Meaning behind the work
7. Workload or amount of work given
8. Relationships with clients or customers
9. Level of appreciation received from the company
10. Company culture
Image credit: Headway
Among the reasons listed above, the survey finds that one’s salary (42%) and relationship between colleagues (42%) are the two biggest factors that bring happiness to employees in Southeast Asia.
Other aspects of the job that contribute to workplace satisfaction are “opportunities available for me to grow” (34%), “my company’s benefits” (32%), and “the meaning behind the work I do” (32%). All of these play crucial roles in the trajectory of one’s professional career.
Not everyone is happy to be working from home
Coping with work-from-home arrangements remains a contentious subject among employees in Southeast Asia, as the survey reveals a divide between those who enjoy working remotely and those who prefer to work in an office. 35% of respondents say that they are happy with their current working arrangements, but 25% of respondents feel unhappier now compared to last year.
Image credit: Chris Montgomery
However, it should be noted that not all companies have successfully shifted to remote work arrangements in a post-pandemic world. In addition, the long-term viability of a work-from-home set-up looks different across Southeast Asia, where the internet speed varies per country.
Singapore, for example, has an average fixed broadband speed of 262.20 Mbps, while the Philippines has a fixed broadband internet speed of 72.56 Mbps, according to the Aug 2021 results of the Speedtest Global Index.
Also read: 16 Best Countries with Long-Term Visas for Digital Nomads
You tell us: How does this survey reflect the state of work in your country?
