More than half of M’sian employees are pessimistic about their organisation's survivability: PwC

• AI is no threat, says most Malaysian employees
• 28% likely to change employers in next 12 months

PwC released its Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2023, where 19,500 Asia Pacific employees participated with 1,500 from Malaysia. 

39% of Asia Pacific employees told PwC that their organisation will not survive more than 10 years if it continues on its current course. This is compared to the 53% of Asia Pacific CEOs who shared this sentiment in the 2023 CEO survey. 

The figure is even higher among Malaysian employees, with 51% believing their organisation will not survive more than 10 years. This is aligned with 51% of Malaysian CEOs polled in the 2023 CEO survey on the economic viability of their organisation in a decade. 

"Organisations must transform and adapt quickly to truly flourish in a continuously evolving environment. It's encouraging to see that business leaders and employees in the region share this vision, said Raymund Chao, PwC Asia Pacific and China chairman.

"Beyond finding out the critical skills gaps at the heart of the organisation, leaders can do more to explore what are the issues their employees care about and provide them an avenue to shape their careers in this volatile environment," said Kartina Abdul Latif (pic), workforce management leader at PwC Malaysia.

"Nurturing an environment that provides leeway for small-scale failures, an attribute observed among 34% of Malaysian respondents, as well as having managers who encourage dissent and debate (observed by 35% of Malaysian respondents) can be an enabler to a more engaged and high performing workforce," said Debra Ann Ovinis, Workforce Transformation partner at PwC Malaysia said,

The survey also identified six factors underpinning the reinvention readiness of a company: business viability, employee sentiment, workforce skills, emerging technology, work environment, and climate action. 

PwC suggests that these results should be a wake-up call for regional companies, many of whom have already grappled with a skill and talent shortage for years.
 
 

'The Great Resignation' is far from over

Employees in the region are even more likely to quit now than last year. 28% of Malaysian employees are likely to change employers in the next 12 months compared to 16% last year. This is consistent with about 30% of their Asia Pacific counterparts in the report who say they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, up 10% from 2022.

47% of Malaysian respondents expressed an interest in a pay raise, and 38% were keen to ask for a promotion. At the same time, roughly 40% of Asia Pacific employees were likely to ask for a pay raise or advancement within the same timeframe.

Skills in the workplace are evolving, but human skills matter the most
According to the study, 50% of Malaysian respondents believe that the skills required for their jobs will significantly change within the next five years, compared to 44% of their Asia-Pacific counterparts. 

Malaysian employees assign higher importance to people skills like critical thinking skills (78%), leadership skills (75%) and collaborative skills (74%) compared to technical or core business skills. 

There are some similarities for employees in the Asia Pacific, with adaptability/flexibility (69%), collaborative skills (67%) and critical thinking (66%) being ranked higher than technical or core business skills.

PwC notes that 62% of Malaysian respondents are confident that their employers will allow them to apply the most critical skills to their careers in the next five years. However, when considering the wider Asia Pacific region, less than half (48%) feel the same way

Optimism observed around artificial intelligence (AI)

Views around artificial intelligence offer a unique perspective of an organisation's adaptability to emerging technologies and its values around innovation. Observed satisfaction levels in the workplace environment could indicate the organisation's trajectory towards reinvention.

The survey shows the relative openness of Malaysian respondents towards AI and its role in creating opportunities to learn valuable new skills and enhance productivity augurs well for organisations as they push the bar in transforming their workforce amidst the digital disruptions in the market.
 
Fewer employees fear AI will replace their role (23% vs 31% in the previous year). 50% of Malaysian respondents think AI will help them increase their productivity or efficiency at work (vs 41% of their Asia Pacific counterparts). 42% of Malaysian respondents (vs 34% of Asia Pacific respondents) think AI will create opportunities for them to learn valuable new skills. In comparison, 29% in Malaysia (25% in Asia Pacific) even believe AI will create new job opportunities.