56% of employees willing to leave Hong Kong for a career opportunity

Bosses are getting worried over brain drain.

​Discussion about brain drain in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia has gone unabated for years. With Randstad’s latest findings showing that employees in thethree countries being more willing than the global average to emigrate for a job, brain drain should be a cause for major concern.

Randstad’s latest Workmonitor research for Q2 revealed that over six in ten employees (61%) in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia would be willing to emigrate for a job that is not available in their country. This was significantly higher than the global average of 50%.

When looking at specific countries, employees in Malaysia were the most likely (66%) to leave their country for a career opportunity, compared to Hong Kong employees which were the least willing with 56% looking to do the same.

Demographic variations were also discovered with men being more likely than women to emigrate for a job, and employees aged between 18 and 34 also being much more willing than other age groups to move for a career opportunity not available in their country.

The demographic the most willing to move were male employees based in Malaysia aged between 25 and 34.

Managing Director for Randstad Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, Michael Smith noted, “Brain drain is as relevant as ever and the rapid evolution of technology is leaving companies around the world scrambling for skilled talent. Our Workmonitor results have shown that employees in the region have clearly understood this and are more willing than ever to consider options outside of their countries.”

“The war for talent is being fought on multiple fronts, between organisations and between countries. Organisations need to be ever vigilant with their top talent, even if
they have the best offerings compared to their competitors, overseas opportunities may still be stronger, potentially drawing their workforce away,” added Smith.