Asia-Pacific impacted by employee burnout, rising costs, weak leadership

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- A study by Boyden, a premier leadership and talent advisory firm revealed that Asia-Pacific has the lowest confidence globally in the workforce and leadership teams, and places less emphasis on human capital than other regions.

The global study, titled “Strengthening the human-centric core of Industry 5.0- How can organisations thrive in a complex world of risk?” explores perspectives on risk among chief executive officers, boards and other senior leaders, alongside executive talent trends, priorities and investment.

Of those surveyed in the Asia Pacific, only 35 per cent of respondents were very confident or confident in the overall workforce, versus the global average of 55 per cent, while 45 per cent are very confident or confident in the leadership team, versus the global average of 60 per cent.

“There is less of a focus on the human-centric core of Industry 5.0 in this region as business leaders deal with geopolitical risk, supply chain disruption and global economic volatility.

“Despite this, Industry 5.0 presents opportunities for growth, and the tech sector needs to be stronger for businesses to compete globally,” said Boyden Asia-Pacific Practice Leader, Financial Services and Industrial managing partner and board director, William J. Farrell in a statement.

According to the survey, the top internal risks across all sectors were employee burnout, rising business costs and weak leadership teams.

It also revealed that the top external risks of geopolitics, global economic volatility and supply chain disruption are taking a major toll on business leaders and executives.

The most valuable soft leadership skills are therefore identified as ‘inspiring teams,’ ‘driving change’ and distinctive to Asia-Pacific, ‘self-leadership’.

In addressing a need to strengthen executive talent, 91 per cent of respondents identify both health and safety and technology/cloud/ cybersecurity talent, followed by marketing and sales as the top three priority areas.

The study was conducted in the second quarter of 2022, involving senior executives worldwide from publicly-quoted, private/independent, private/family-owned, social enterprise and private equity-backed organisations.

Boyden is a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries.

More details on the full report can be found on www.boyden.com.

-- BERNAMA