One in 5 employees fear losing their jobs to automation

But seven in 10 are open to retraining.

Recruitment firm Randstad’s Employer Brand Research found that nearly one in five (17.3%) employees in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia fear that automation will take their jobs away.

Singapore (19%) and Hong Kong (20%) employees held the highest fears of losing their jobs to automation. On the other hand, Malaysian employees held a much more relaxed sentiment with only 13% of employees having fears around automation and their job security.

Despite the looming threat of automation, the prospect of losing their jobs did not dampen their prospects as over six in ten employees said they would be happy to retrain into a new role provided that their salaries would remain the same or higher than before.

Singapore and Malaysian employees were the most open to retraining with 72% and 70% stating so respectively, whereas only 52% of Hong Kongers felt the same way. On the opposite end, one in ten said they would rather move a different company than retrain.

The report also found out that a large group of employees feel that automation will in fact make their jobs better. Nearly half, 45% of employees in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia held a positive outlook on automation with Malaysian employees being the most optimistic (51%) and Hong Kong employees being the most pessimistic (39%).

One third of all employees in each market felt indifference towards automation and stated that they felt it would have no effect on their jobs. A further one in five stated that they could not imagine technology taking away their jobs.

Michael Smith, managing director, Randstad Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia noted, “Through discussions with senior leaders from varying industries, we’ve seen that many organisations are in the midst of executing digital strategies incorporating automation into their daily business operations - including Randstad. With many employees are already experiencing some level of automation being integrated into their daily work lives, it’s clear why nearly half of employees in the region feel that automation will make their jobs easier.”

“Automation is a polarising subject; our Randstad Employer Brand Research findings clearly reinforce that. The results further highlight the need for organisations to pay even more attention to the sentiments of their employees and potential talent to understand what they need to focus on to be an employer of choice,” added Smith.