Richard Letcher, Managing Director of Profile Search & Selection, examines what is motivating us in workplaces across APAC.
For the last four years, Profile Search & Selection has carried out an annual survey of current HR and Talent issues in conjunction with The Roffey Park Institute, a UK-headquartered leadership consulting firm, and The Next Step, an Australian recruitment company specialising in HR talent.
This year, 2,800 people filled in the survey anonomously, 94% of which were based in either Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong or China. Roughly half of all the respondents were HR professionals with the other half from various functions from Legal & Compliance, to Sales & Marketing and Finance & Accounting. Most (84%) were Manager level to Board Director and, generation wise, 57% were Generation X, 29% Generation Y with the rest being Baby Boomers.
Around 30 core questions were posed by our survey – the last was a rather simple one: "What motivates you at work?". Respondents are asked to tick any number of 11 options that particularly applied to them, from 'Financial rewards' to 'The opportunity to develop new skills'.
Here are the results split by geographical area. The pink circles denote the top motivators within that jurisdiction.
What motivates you at work?
% of respondents who indicated:
*Pink circles indicate top four motivators.
Purpose at work
As you can see, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia are largely in agreement about what their key motivators are at work. The number one motivator that gets folks out of bed in these places is 'The opportunity to make a difference', a motivating factor that borders on altruism and is certainly tied to the idea of purpose at work, a concept that many organisations are struggling with. Given its importance, if it could be somehow harnessed for every role in an organisation, it is likely that motivation gold would’ve been struck. But, as we all know, it can be quite elusive. Company size and life cycle might come into play here. ‘Making a difference’ might be easier for employees in start-up organisations, but for larger companies, there is more of a challenge.
In last year’s survey, we asked the same question and 'The opportunity to make a difference' appeared at or near the top as well. It was the number one motivator in Singapore and came in second in Hong Kong (with first being 'Achieving results'). We didn’t have data for Australia last year.
Results orientation, working with your buddies and being free
Related to this number one motivator, 'Achieving results' is also important to most people in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. One would hope by achieving targets, a difference is made in the greater scheme of things.
Working with 'Respectful and friendly colleagues' is also motivating as one might expect given so much of our life at work is spent interacting with others. Interestingly, from elsewhere in our survey, we established that the number one stressor across the region is 'Organisational politics', the antithesis of working with great co-workers.
'Autonomy and freedom to decide on what, how, where and when work is done', also seems to get us out of bed in the morning, particularly in Singapore and Australia.
Motivational leadership
China, on the other hand, dances to the beat of a very different drum when it comes to what motivates us at work. The chief reason to get out of bed in the morning is 'Strong vision from organisational leader' followed closely by 'Financial awards' (which coincidentally is joint second in Hong Kong). 'Recognition by others' is also an important factor in China as is the 'Opportunity to develop new skills'.
Do motivators differ by generation?
The answer to this is ‘yes’, sort of, with Baby Boomers and Generation X sharing very similar motivators at work.
Here are the results, sliced and diced by generation.
What motivates you at work?
% of respondents who indicated:
*Pink circles indicate top four motivators.
What is striking about the table above is that the number one motivator for Generation Y is 'Financial awards'. Striking, but not a surprise given Generation Y are starting out on their careers and large cities can be expensive. Of importance also to this generation is 'The opportunity to develop new skills'.
And the gold medal goes to…
Also in the survey, we included a statement “I feel highly motivated“ and asked respondents to tick one of four options: 'Strongly agree', 'Agree', 'Disagree' or 'Strongly disagree'. Here are the results for ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ broken down by geographical area.
Motivation levels
% of respondents who indicated that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ to the following statement:
As you can see, Australia comes out top with a very motivated workforce. China doesn’t fare so well, but neither does Singapore or Hong Kong.
And generationally…
Motivation levels
% of respondents who indicated that they ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Agree’ to the following statement:
Generation X and Y are feeling mediocre levels of motivation. Baby Boomers lead the pack, perhaps because the work they are doing might be quite fulfilling or simply that, with only a few more years to go before retirement, there is a spike in motivation!
HR functions across the region will benefit from paying heed to these results. Having an eye on the greater purpose of work and creating a culture in which there is a results orientation, people are respectful and friendly, and where autonomy and freedom are a given, can boost motivation, as well as retention.
Established in 2005, Profile is Asia’s leading independent executive search & selection firm. We provide collaborative solutions to financial services, commercial and professional services clients.
