Almost 85 per cent of 13,000 employees surveyed in the second quarter expressed their unhappiness with their current job, according to a report from JobStreet.com Vietnam released on June 29.

More than 73 per cent were hoping to find a new job with a better working environment.

Younger, unhappier

The figures reveal that the younger employees are the unhappier they are with their job. Eight-five per cent overall are discontented but this differs by position.

Nearly 90 per cent of recent graduates said that they are unhappy, with 87 per cent those having from one to three years of experience saying so and 76 per cent of managers.

Among recent graduates, 42 per cent are unhappy because they were unable to find a job related to their major.

Eighty-seven per cent of female employees were unhappy while 82 per cent of male employees felt likewise.

JobStreet.com Vietnam identified three main reasons.

Fifty-five per cent of respondents said their jobs are boring, 54 per cent complained about the low salary, and 37 per cent felt they weren’t gaining the level of experience or knowledge they expected.

When asked about salaries, 33 per cent of respondents believed they were underpaid and 39 per cent said that they cannot live on their current salary.

Moving on

“Respondents lack the self-confidence to find new jobs despite being unhappy with their current employment,” the report found.

Only 4 per cent received a new job offer before deciding to leave their current employment.

Twenty-five per cent believed they could find a new job in less than one month, while 42 per cent said it would take one to two months and almost 30 per cent said more than three months was needed.

There are three main reasons as to why respondents are reluctant to leave their current job despite not being happy.

Forty-eight per cent were afraid they could not find new employment in the current job market and 45 per cent pointed to the financial ramifications of leaving their current job.

Only 21 per cent believed their dissatisfaction with their current job could be resolved.

“A notable point from the survey is that ‘Salary’ is not the most important factor in being happy at work,” the report noted.

“This presents possibilities for HR managers to attract and retain talent without having to expand their current salary base.”

JobStreet.com advised employers to build a clear career path for each position.

“This has been confirmed by respondents, as 63 per cent stated that it is a critical factor in staying in a job,” the report found.

Improving the work-life balance is also a good method of keeping employees happy.

“As 55 per cent said their job is boring, employers could raise the challenge for employees with upskilling and training,” it added.

This could also help to increase the base salary of retained employees, improving their living standards.