What does the future hold for pay, wellbeing and work in Asia Pacific?

What does the future hold for pay, wellbeing and work in Asia Pacific?

COVID-19 has had a major impact on business outlook

Employers took swift action on pay and hiring

• 47% of organisations anticipate a moderate to large negative impact on their business in the next year
• 52% initially froze or reduced hiring
• 5% implemented a salary increase freeze, four times higher than last year

Employees globally had overwhelming concerns and challenges at the peak of crisis

• 89% reported anxiety related to COVID-19
• 70% reported new financial concerns
• 67% reported at least some work distractions

Pay and talent trends show Asia Pacific is optimistic of a rebound

• Average salary increases are projected to bounce back from 5.2% to 5.7% in 2021
• 72% of organisations now plan to maintain headcount for the next 12 months, 11% plan to increase
• 17 of 20 Asia Pacific markets expect their salary budgets to rebound next year

Employers continue to prioritise employee wellbeing

• 86% continued to provide retirement and medical benefits for furloughed employees
• 40% plan to enhance wellbeing programs over the next six months
• 31% offered or expanded access to mental health services
• 26% offered or expanded access to telemedicine

Many are optimising their workforce to find new ways of working

• 59% are adjusting the role of the workplace and what work should be done onsite versus remotely
• 34% are focused on new ways of working and organising work as they emerge from the current crisis
• 22% are already implementing new ways of working, workforce scaling and reskilling

Key considerations for employers

• Enhance your employee listening strategies and prioritise the employee experience
• Take a holistic view to support your employee’s physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing
• Train managers to effectively manage their teams remotely and identify employees who need help
• Keep in touch with the latest market data to make effective and competitive decisions around pay
• Align total rewards with new ways of working
• Ensure responsible work redesign, identify opportunities for workforce optimisation and longer-term upskilling and reskilling

Sources: Asia Pacific Restoring Stability Survey – Pay, Benefits, Wellbeing; Salary Budget Planning Q3 Survey Report; Actions to Restore Stability Survey; WTW Employee Opinion Norm Database – August 2020