KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): More than half of employees in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong are willing to accept a lower salary or demotion in order to remain employed, according to a study by Randstad.
 
The global average stands at 43%, while Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia have an average of 52% employees willing to take a pay cut, the manpower consulting firm’s Workmonitor Research for the second quarter of 2017 showed.
 
"We expect this falls down to a mix of the recent global economic sluggishness and the fear of staying unemployed, coupled with traditional mindsets, where losing a job would result in ‘losing face’,” said Michael Smith, managing director for Randstad Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
 
Employees in Singapore were the most likely to accept a salary decrease or demotion with 61%, while only 46% of employees in Hong Kong were willing to protect their employment through a decrease or demotion, the study suggests. Meanwhile, 49% of employees in Malaysia share the sentiment. 
 
Consistently, men across all three economies, as well as globally, were more willing to accept a demotion or salary decrease, as compared with women, the research revealed.
 
“While we don’t have statistics to see how this sentiment has trended in the past, I would expect the willingness to accept decreased salaries or demotions to drop, as the economy recovers and the workforce matures,” Smith added.
 
The Dutch consulting firm launched its Workmonitor Research in 2003 to track employee confidence, job market sentiments, employee satisfaction, and key trends shaping the world of work for employees, among other indicators. The study now covers 34 countries around the world and is published every quarter of the year.