CHINA’S WORKING PROFESSIONALS WILLING TO COMPROMISE ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR UPSKILLING OPPORTUNITIES

The drive to learn and upskill amongst China’s professionals has been a continuing trend that has accelerated alongside the country’s rapid digitalisation and growth, says leading recruitment experts Hays. The report titled Uncovering the DNA of the Future Workplace surveyed over 9,000 working professionals in Asia across Asia in February this year and again in September this year found that apart from more salary and benefits (58 per cent), respondents in China were most willing to compromise on their work-life balance for learning and development (L&D) opportunities (52 per cent) as compared to the rest of Asia. Respondents in China also said increased L&D opportunities (68 per cent) are the key to increasing future readiness - a theme that is recurring through other findings.

 

 

The survey showed that 94 per cent of respondents considered upskilling as important/very important to their professional development, a number that is tied with Malaysia as the highest in Asia. In a similar vein, when asked if they believed their current skill sets would still be relevant in the next 2-3 years, 74 per cent of respondents agreed – the lowest number in Asia after Japan (71 per cent). Within this, 59 per cent agreed their hard skills would remain relevant, while 25 per cent disagreed – the highest number in Asia to do so after Japan (27 per cent). 69 percent also said their soft skills could use improvement. However, later in the year, the areas for upskilling that are of most concern are not hard and soft skills, but change management (85 per cent), digital skills (80 per cent) and reskilling i.e. the process of learning new skills to succeed in a different job (80 per cent).   

 

In a region-wide trend, there has been a resounding demand for digital skills, soft skills and remote skillsets such as remote orientation and remote leadership. In the new era of work, companies may have transitioned to surviving uncertainty, but the results predict that a future workplace will need to pivot and invest in training their increasingly digital and remote workforce to communicate, learn and lead remotely. Similarly, reskilling has emerged as a need of the hour and while its rising importance could be circumstantial, it may also be indicative of a larger trend in line with the rise in hiring of temporary or contracting workers, and more recent emergences like the gig economy. 

 

 

When asked if their employers provided sufficient opportunities for upskilling, 50 per cent of respondents in China agreed/strongly agreed, the highest such percentage in Asia. While this is encouraging, closer examination reveals that the number of employers who provide development opportunities in the areas of change management (31 per cent), reskilling (29 per cent) and digital skills (20 per cent) is much lower. 

 

Simon Lance, Managing Director for Hays Greater China commented, “Respondents in China consider work life balance to be important, but they are also willing to compromise on it for the right reasons. The desire to learn and upskill in particular is a distinctive trend in the region. With remote and flexible working becoming a permanent fixture in most organisations, focusing on learning, development and instilling purpose in their employees will not only raise an employer’s attractiveness to top talent but result in a win-win situation for both parties. Similarly, reskilling will and should become a facet championed by organisations who will benefit from focusing on skill clusters that can benefit their organisation more holistically as opposed to hiring with a textbook approach.”

About the Report  

The Uncovering the DNA of the Future Workplace report is based on findings from two surveys conducted on more than 4,000 and 5,000 respondents respectively across the five Hays operating markets in Asia: China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore; to measure sentiments on the four core elements we believe will shape workplaces of the future: flexibility, technology, upskilling and purpose. The first survey was concluded in February 2020 at the cusp of the pandemic, with the second having concluded in October 2020. By comparing the two surveys, our findings aim to form a definitive understanding of how the pandemic has altered working sentiments, as well as a barometer for organisations as they seek to understand, attract and retain top talent amidst current challenges and those to come. 

 

 

 

 

Hays Specialist Recruitment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is one of China's leading recruitment companies in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. 

 

Hays has been in China for over a decade with operational offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. We boast a track record of success and growth, dealing in permanent positions across 14 different specialisms, including Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Digital Technology, Engineering, Finance Technology, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Office Professionals, Procurement, Supply Chain and Sales. Hays China was named Best Workplace™ and Best Workplaces™ for Women in Greater China 2019, and recently ranked one of the the Best Workplaces™ in Asia by Great Place to Work®.

 

 

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2020 the Group employed c.10,400 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2020:

–    the Group reported net fees of £996.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £135.0 million;
–    the Group placed around 66,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 235,000 people into temporary roles;
–    17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
–    the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
–    IT is the Group’s largest specialism, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest
–    Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA