The majority of office workers in Singapore are feeling increased pressure at work, ironically due to colleagues resigning in the past year, according to a new study commissioned by automation software firm UiPath.
As a result, close to half (48%) say they would consider quitting their job in the next six months.
Conducted last February, UiPath’s 2022 Office Worker Survey polled more than 5,000 office workers across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India, Australia, and Singapore— where more than 500 office workers were polled.
The study found that monotonous tasks are amplifying employee unhappiness and uncertainty, and that employees would welcome new processes and technologies such as automation to allow them to focus on work that matters.
In Singapore, two in every three (66%) office workers are feeling increased pressure at work because their colleagues have quit within the last year, the third-highest of seven countries polled.
Also, 86% of local respondents have had to take on up to six new tasks outside of their job descriptions due to their coworkers resigning—and 69% reported that they do not know what their responsibilities are anymore.
Labor shortages and mundane work are causing people to quit — 73% of respondents in Singapore say they are interested or could be swayed into looking for a new job in the next six months.
About one in every three (32%) say they are currently applying for another job, and 28% have had interviews with another company in the past six months.
Office workers are motivated to seek a new position due to increased pressure on work/life balance (40%), lack of employee recognition (28%), and spending too much time on administrative tasks (27%).
Expanding roles are compounded by monotonous tasks — 97% of respondents in Singapore say they feel exhausted at the end of a workday at least one day per week. They’re frustrated by mundane tasks at work, like responding to emails (41%), scheduling calls and meetings (33%), and inputting data/creating datasets (33%).
Office workers believe automation is core to improving their job performance and satisfaction. Three in five (61%) office workers in Singapore feel like much of their workday is eaten up by tasks that can be automated.
Automation can help fight the “Great Resignation” as 77% percent of respondents in Singapore argue that incorporating automation—including training on automation—could help their organisation attract new and retain existing talent, which is the second-highest of all countries polled .
“Although Singapore’s labor market recovery is expected to continue in 2022, businesses must adopt technologies like automation which helps to reduce mundane work and increase productivity, to ensure that they can retain and attract workers,” said Rick Harshman, SVP and Managing director of Asia Pacific at UiPath.
“By freeing workers’ time and maximizing their job satisfaction, businesses can gain a competitive edge with the aid of emerging technology, which is now a business imperative,” said Harshman.
