A new Asia-Pacific survey by Microsoft has suggested companies are failing to meet their employee’s expectations with regards to productivity, collaboration and innovation in high tech areas such as smartphones and cloud computing.
Entitled the New World of Work (NWoW) Study for Enterprises, the survey found only 39 out of 100 employees in Singapore felt their company allowed them to reach their own levels of personal success through supportive leadership, flexible work environments and better use of technology.
The survey asked 400 respondents in Singapore about work and life needs and highlighted any gaps that prevented them from thriving in their current position.
“We commissioned this study to understand how work and life have changed for employees in Asia-Pacific and determine how well supported they are in being enabled to succeed,” said Borko Kovacevic, director of marketing at Microsoft Singapore.
Respondents for the NWoW study had to rate themselves in three key areas:
- People: Working flexibly and productively in the workplace while being supported by the leaders and culture
- Place: Working anywhere at any time thanks to a collaborative office design and flexible work policies
- Technology: Being empowered with technology to achieve success within their workplace environment
The average for the Asia-Pacific region saw 44 out of 100 employees rating themselves highly in all these areas.
Singapore’s below average result of 39 employees meant it ranked ninth out of all markets scored, falling behind nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. India achieved the highest ranking of 65 out of 100 employees while South Korea was the lowest with only 23.
These results show employees in emerging markets are better supported for the digital workplace than those in mature countries such as Singapore. In these nations, employers are failing to harness the proper online productivity tools. They may be impeded by stricter workplace policies or legacy systems – outdated technology – still in use.
“In the new digital world, employees in emerging markets will leapfrog those in mature markets in becoming workers of the future,” the report warned.
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