PETALING JAYA: The evolving job market has led Malaysian employees to place greater emphasis on personal goals and development opportunities.
According to the latest survey by Randstad Malaysia’s Workmonitor Research which polled 517 employees and job seekers, it found that Malaysians have elevated their career aspirations, with 73% considering themselves ambitious, 17% above the global average.
This aspiration is tempered by a desire for personal satisfaction, where despite half of them expressing willingness to leave their jobs due to insufficient career advancement prospects, 55% indicated they would remain in their current position if they found fulfillment, even in the absence of promotion opportunities.
“The labour marketplace in Malaysia has transformed from a transactional environment to one where employers must cater to the individualistic motivations and aspirations of talent.
“Adopting a ‘talent-first’ approach that addresses personalised employee goals is key to differentiating and succeeding in the competitive world of work,“ the report stated.
Moreover, 81% of the respondent consider training and development opportunities to be essential when evaluating their current or potential employers.
This sentiment is particularly strong among younger generations, with 43% of Gen-Zers are saying they would quit a job that did not offer upskilling, compared to just 15% of Baby Boomers.
Respondents also expressed the greatest interest in developing capabilities in IT and tech literacy (42%), management and leadership (29%), artificial intelligence (29%), data science (23%), and communication skills (22%).
Not only that, the survey also found that 47% would not accept a job if it did not provide opportunities to future-proof their skills, while 38% would quit if no such opportunities were available.
“The importance of learning opportunities to talent reinforces the desire for partnership between employees and employers.
“This is now a crucial factor for employees when choosing a job, so organizations must highlight their learning and development initiatives to attract the best-aligned talent,“ the report added.
Beyond upskilling, the survey identified other top priorities for local workers, including work-life balance and salary (94% consider it to be important), health insurance and healthcare benefits (90%), working hours flexibility (89%), job security (88%) and mental health support (87%).
“While Malaysians are ambitious to seek higher salaries and more prestigious job titles, they balance it with finding employers who can offer a positive experience.
“Having the opportunity to upskill could sometimes be more fulfilling than doing the same job for a higher salary.”
