In the midst of inflation and hiring fluctuations in some industries, you might be asking if “The Great Resignation” is over.
Betul Genc (BG), Country Manager Singapore for Adecco, a human resource solutions and consulting company, shares some marketplace observations.
Are the trends that led to “The Great Resignation” still ongoing?
BG: From our experience liaising with job seekers, the great resignation trend is not only contributed by candidates wanting to move into growth sectors.
Other factors for the great resignation include one or a combination of factors, and are non-exhaustive to this list: burnout, seeking new job challenges and fulfilment, looking for more work flexibility, taking a break to re-evaluate priorities, being headhunted, etc.
There will always be factors that will be ongoing regardless of the pandemic or “The Great Resignation” trend.
For example, suppose employers are not evolving with the times or keeping employees engaged. If the job does not provide an employee with job satisfaction or the work environment is unhealthy, one will still choose to leave the organisation.
What are the recent hiring trends happening locally in Singapore, especially considering the impact of the global economy (e.g., the spectre of inflation, turmoil in Europe)?
Based on market knowledge and experience working with clients, we have noticed that layoffs in the tech industry affect mostly corporate roles.
In the continuous support for digital transformation and growth, tech firms are still hiring, and salaries remain competitive for tech roles in sectors such as FinTech, e-Commerce, Web3 and Crypto.
In the manufacturing space, skill sets related to automation are in demand.
Logistics and trading businesses remain highly competitive as they focus on outward-oriented services.
Data-driven roles, namely control tower experts, logistics/ Internet of Things (IoT) analysts, and supply chain executives are in demand by both employers and job seekers.
With Singapore’s 2030 Green Plan, we will also start to see a demand for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) roles not only in the banking and green sectors but also in multinational companies (MNCs) that are aligned with the green or global sustainability plans.
Read More: Salary – More than Just Numbers on Your Payslip
Projecting forward, what are some of your thoughts on how the resignation trends and expectations of Singapore workers and employees will evolve this year? Will local employers be able to match them? Any thoughts on salary expectations, in particular?
Taking into consideration the continued volatile global economic conditions, whilst there will still be increased hiring for select roles, we will expect hiring and salaries to stabilise in 2023, which may lead to a decline in resignations due to the weaker job market.
In our Global Workforce of The Future Report released by Adecco Group in December 2022, we found that employees’ expectations have evolved as the pandemic has brought about refreshed views about the workplace, workday and workforce.
The Great Re-evaluation is contagious, and companies must seize the moment to reprioritise their commitment to their people.
Some companies are evolving with the times. They are rethinking their approach to flexibility and creating a more conducive work environment to encourage collaboration. On the HR side, they are also reviewing job descriptions, reassessing appraisal formats, and enhancing reskilling and upskilling. Most importantly, they are ensuring that managers have regular career conversations with their team as a crucial first step.
Empowering managers to reinvigorate a clear workplace purpose that will motivate all workers and connect with their personal purpose is paramount.
The findings of our study also showed that while salary has been an effective recruitment tool in recent years, employees no longer stay just for the salary.
The additional reasons for them to commit to an employer include a strong company culture that offers a good work-life balance, fruitful relationships with colleagues and carefully crafted development opportunities, especially for non-managers.
How prepared and resilient do you think Singapore employees and jobseekers are for marketplace and industry disruptions (e.g., tech changes with AI)?
The government has been actively advocating for upskilling and reskilling of workers. Previously they distributed SkillsFuture credits. In the recent Budget 2023, it was announced that job-skills integrators would be a new resource for employers to ensure better training and placement of workers in their industries.
Other than the government’s partnership, it takes two hands to clap.
Whilst employees should adopt a proactive mindset to challenges by ensuring they are kept updated with relevant industry skills to remain competitive in the job market, employers must also be supportive in building a future-ready workforce such as sponsorship for upskilling and reskilling, allowing time-off for courses or exam leave.
