{"id":36539,"date":"2025-10-21T12:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T05:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/?p=36539"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T05:22:27","slug":"malaysias-workforce-balances-ambition-rising-pay-expectations-and-csr-priorities-new-reeracoen-x-rakuten-insight-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thaipropertynews.com\/feeds\/?p=36539","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia’s Workforce Balances Ambition, Rising Pay Expectations, and CSR Priorities – New Reeracoen x Rakuten Insight Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia<\/span><\/span>, Oct. 21, 2025<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire\/ — Malaysian professionals are sending a clear message to employers: ambition without purpose is not enough, and neither is purpose without progression.<\/p>\n

The newly released Reeracoen x Rakuten Insight APAC Workforce Whitepaper 2025<\/b><\/a> surveyed over 12,000 professionals across 12 Asia-Pacific markets and found Malaysia’s<\/span> workforce stands apart. Nearly 40% of Malaysian workers aspire to leadership roles <\/b>(above the APAC average of 37%). <\/b>At the same time, two out of three say a company’s stance on sustainability and social responsibility influences whether they will take a job. <\/b><\/p>\n

The stakes are rising in other ways. More than one in four Malaysian workers (28%) now expect double-digit salary increases<\/b>, compared to just 21% regionally. It is a bold ask, but the data suggests it comes with an equally bold commitment: Malaysia<\/span> is one of the few APAC markets where company-sponsored training significantly outpaces what employees pursue on their own.<\/p>\n

“Malaysian talent is capable, grounded, and ready to grow. Ambition here is strong, but so too is the demand for values, trust, and leadership that empowers,”<\/i>\u00a0said Yohei Yagi<\/span>, Country Manager, Reeracoen Malaysia<\/b>. “Employers who combine structure with stretch, and strategy with empathy, will unlock the full potential of Malaysia’s<\/span> workforce.”<\/i><\/p>\n

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\"Yohei<\/a>
Yohei Yagi, Country Manager of Reeracoen Malaysia<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Talent Paradox Employers Must Solve<\/b><\/p>\n

Malaysia<\/span> has positioned itself aggressively as a hub for digital innovation, advanced manufacturing, and green growth through initiatives such as MyDIGITAL, Industry4WRD, and the Twelfth Malaysia Plan. Foreign investment is flowing into semiconductors, renewable energy, and tech infrastructure.<\/p>\n

But there is a gap between policy ambition and workplace reality. While 71% of Malaysian professionals say flexible work arrangements matter to them, access remains inconsistent across industries. And while workers want empathetic, empowering leadership \u2013 58% call it critical to job satisfaction \u2013 many organisations still default to top-down management styles that stifle the very ambition they claim to want.<\/p>\n

The whitepaper presents five forces reshaping Malaysia’s<\/span> talent landscape:<\/p>\n