Current research, in over 13 countries, conducted among 14,600 employees, managers, HR leaders, and C-level executives, responded that 78% of them feel “stuck” professionally, and 77% personally. According to the research which was conducted by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, Covid 19 is the primary contributory factor with 90% of those surveyed having perceived the meaning of success differently since the pandemic has started. 

Interestingly, employees are turning to robots to support their professional development after the COVID-19 pandemic left them feeling lonely and disconnected from their own lives.

The situation within the APAC region

After more than a year of lockdowns, many workers experienced emotional turmoil and were left stuck to it. Companies, on the other hand, think of ways to protect that mental health of their employees. 78% of the companies felt that they are more concerned about their employees’ mental health compared to pre-pandemic days. 
Further the survey revealed that:

1. 80% of people have been negatively impacted by the last year, with
   • 31% struggling financially;
   • 29% suffering from declining mental health;
   • 25% lacking career motivation;
   • 25% feeling lonelier, and
   • 22% feeling disconnected from their own lives.
2. 63% found 2021 to be the most stressful year at work ever — more than half (55%) of people struggled with mental health at work in 2021, compared to 2020.

People are motivated to change when faced to uncertainties

The disruption brought about the pandemic given the chance for 93% of people to take time and reflect among themselves; and with 90% of them responding that success meant different and had changed for them since the pandemic. Their top priorities now are reflected as follows:

• work-life balance (43%)
• mental health (38%)
• and a flexible workplace (34%).

Details of the survey showed that:

1. 78% feel stuck professionally as they don’t have growth opportunities to progress in their career (27%), with 23% feeling too overwhelmed to make any changes. 

2. 72% of people say feeling stuck in their career has negatively impacted their personal lives, by adding extra stress and anxiety (42%); contributing to feeling stuck personally (31%), and taking focus away from their personal lives (28%).

3. 84% of people are ready to make a career change, but 79% said they are facing major obstacles. 

a. The biggest hurdles include financial instability (24%); not knowing what career change makes sense for them (23%); not feeling confident enough to make a change (22%), and seeing no growth opportunities at their company (22%).

Employees were surveyed on their “top of the mind” in their journey of change, professional development was their common response.

Many were willing to give up key benefits like work arrangement (60%); vacation time (55%); monetary bonuses (52%) or part of their salary (48%) in exchange for professional development in 2022.

Simultaneously, 86% of the workforce are not satisfied with their employer’s support - in the APAC region, 38% looking for companies to provide more learning and skills development, 32% looking for opportunities for new roles within their company, and 32% wanting more workplace flexibility.

Learning new skills through technology

With the results of the survey, employers need now to pay attention to employee needs, and grip technology to deliver better support to maintain and develop top talent from dynamic changing workplace, the survey emphasized the following:

1. 89% of people want technology to help define their future by recommending ways to learn new skills (40%); identifying skills they need to develop (39%), and providing the next steps to progress towards career goals (37%).
2. 82% of people would make life changes based on robot recommendations.
3. 88% believe robots can support their careers better than a human by giving unbiased recommendations (41%); delivering resources tailored to their current skills or goals (38%), or quickly answering questions about their career (37%).
4. 91% of people believe their company should be doing more to listen to their needs, with 61% saying they are more likely to stay with a company that uses advanced technologies like AI to support their career growth.

Hence, the respondents still believe that at the end of the day, humans still play a vital role in their career development, and much better at providing support such as: 

• offering advice based on personal experience (45%.);
• identifying strengths and weaknesses (43%), 
• and looking beyond a resume to recommend roles that fit personalities (39%).