Understanding the cultural dynamics within organisations is crucial for fostering a thriving workforce. The 2025 Global Culture Report presents invaluable insights, particularly for HR professionals and people leaders in the APAC region.

This white paper explores key regional findings related to surviving, thriving, wellbeing, emotional intelligence, purpose, engagement, and fulfilment, highlighting areas where APAC (Asia Pacific) organisations must focus their efforts to improve workplace culture – based on a statistically significant sample of 7,143 employees, leaders, and HR practitioners across Japan, Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines (accounting for 19% of all people surveyed globally for this year’s report findings).

The charts shown in this whitepaper show the comparative findings for APAC against employees in IMEA (India, Middle East, Africa), the Americas, and Europe.

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Merely Surviving

In a factor analysis of survival metrics, 43% of APAC employees feel they are in survival mode. While this is the lowest score among all surveyed regions, it represents a concerning number of employees who are preoccupied with meeting their immediate needs and are merely enduring their work environments.

Many countries across Asia are experiencing declining talent pools – driven by lower fertility rates and aging populations, as referenced in the most recent report by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare – which is placing mounting pressure on the remaining workforce. With fewer young graduates entering the job market, existing employees are often expected to take on heavier workloads, work longer hours, and shoulder greater responsibilities. This increased strain leads to higher levels of stress, burnout and job insecurity, particularly as companies face persistent talent shortages. As competition for skilled workers intensifies, organisations are increasingly looking to recruit talent from overseas to fill critical gaps.

The Australian workforce is grappling with significant pressures such as employee turnover, labour market fluctuations, economic uncertainty, and increasing demands for skills and wellbeing. According to AHRI’s Quarterly Australian Work Outlook, recruitment and retention challenges remain high, despite some easing in key labour indicators.

“Our research reveals a significant portion of employees feel stuck in ‘survival mode’, lacking fair compensation, a supportive work environment, and a genuine sense of belonging. These deficiencies hinder productivity and breed resentment towards employers.”

Wage expectations are also on the rise but are failing to keep pace with inflation, adding to the stress employees face in making ends meet. This struggle is further compounded by the fact that many organisations are experiencing recruitment difficulties, leaving current employees overburdened with additional responsibilities.

According to HRM Online, burnout and mental health concerns have also become prevalent, particularly in hybrid work models where the boundaries between work and personal life are increasingly blurred.

To help APAC employees in survival mode, organisations should:

1. Meet employees’ basic needs for stability and security with competitive compensation and health support
2. Align Total Reward strategies and offerings around organisational care for employees
3. Use integrated recognition to help employees feel an increased sense of security and belonging

For further insights on this topic, refer to the Working to Survive chapter of the 2025 Global Culture Report.

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Helping Employees Thrive

When employees’ basic needs are met, they are better positioned to grow and succeed through more people-centred Total Rewards offerings that are based on three key elements; career development, skill building and flexibility. However, there is a critical correlation between surviving and thriving that organisations must address to foster long-term employee wellbeing.

Our research finds that only 25% of APAC employees feel like they are thriving, the lowest rate across all surveyed regions. We can see positive signs in AHRI’s Quarterly Australian Work Outlook report, which indicates that Australian employees are increasingly seeking skill enhancement opportunities, suggesting that while survival remains a primary concern for many, others are actively looking for ways to grow and develop despite the challenges. This underscores the need for organisations to address both survival and growth needs simultaneously.

To move the needle, businesses must first address the foundational needs of their workforce. Survival must be prioritised first before thriving can become attainable. Once survival needs are met, organisations can take deliberate actions to cultivate thriving.

To help employees thrive at work, organisations should:

1. Provide tangible skill-building opportunities and career development plans
2. Offer workplace flexibility that includes not only choice in where and when employees do their work, but autonomy in how they do their jobs
3. Recognise often to reinforce security, inclusion, and belonging

For more detailed findings on this topic, read the Thrive at Work chapter of the 2025 Global Culture Report.

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Wellbeing & Mental Health

Wellbeing in the APAC region has also taken a hit, scoring the lowest among all regions. External pressures, particularly the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, have led to a widespread likelihood of employees suffering from depression, anxiety and burnout, heightening the importance of mental health support and flexible work arrangements.

According to Employment Hero’s 2024 Wellness at Work Report, employees across Asia are struggling with high levels of stress due to rising costs of living, overwhelming workloads, and burnout. In Singapore, 56% report being happy with their mental health - yet 58% feel their workplace isn’t doing enough to ease financial pressures.

The Great Place to Work SG10 Insights Report, which examines the evolution of workplace culture in Singapore over the past decade, also indicates a concerning trend in employee wellbeing. While the pandemic initially encouraged organisations to prioritise employee care, leading to a wellbeing score of 4.10 out of 5 in 2021, this momentum has slowed as businesses transitioned back to traditional work environments. By the end of 2023, overall wellbeing levels had dipped to 4.02 - highlighting the need for organisations to take proactive steps to improve their wellbeing through resources, empowering local champions to advocate wellbeing and promote ongoing development and learning.

Organisations must adopt actionable strategies to support employee wellbeing, such as implementing financial wellbeing programs to alleviate financial stress. According to Safe Work Australia, the rising number of workers' compensation claims related to mental health conditions is up by 36.9% since 2017, also suggesting that there is an urgent need for robust psychological support systems within organisations.

To help support employee mental health, organisations should:

1. Focus on creating a positive workplace culture that destigmatises mental health issues
2. Provide resources and support for employee mental health, like access to mental health services, dedicated mental health days, flexible work schedules, mental health training and programs, and promoting mental health practices at work
3. Enable employees to give and receive recognition, as expressing gratitude can reduce burnout, anxiety, depression, and absenteeism.

“Creating a mentally healthy workplace should no longer be considered a peripheral concern for leaders. It is something that needs to be at the core of successful, thriving organisations.”
—Professor Samuel Harvey, Executive Director and Chief Scientist at the Black Dog Institute Australia

For more insights, refer to The Mental Health Link chapter of the 2025 Global Culture Report.

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Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is increasingly recognised as a critical component for workplace success in markets like Singapore, Australia and Japan. HRD Australia emphasises the significance of emotional intelligence in fostering positive work environments and maintaining competitiveness.

Among those surveyed in APAC, findings suggest that approximately 70% of employees perceive their colleagues as demonstrating emotional intelligence (EQ) in the workplace. Additionally, 64% of employees reported that their leaders practised EQ, while 63% believed that their organisations as a whole practice EQ.

Companies that prioritise EQ among their leaders and employees tend to see higher employee satisfaction and improved teamwork. Demonstrating emotional intelligence—particularly in areas like empathy and self-regulation—has proven essential for managing conflict and enhancing communication within teams.

To foster Emotional Intelligence at work, organisations should:

1. Encourage leaders to demonstrate EQ behaviours such as practising empathy, active listening, and taking supportive action based on employee feedback and concerns
2. Use EQ to manage conflict and repair trust
3. Leverage employee recognition to foster and reinforce EQ behaviours

For deeper insights, read the Applied Emotional Intelligence chapter of the 2025 Global Culture Report.

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Purposeful Work

APAC scored second lowest for purpose, marginally behind Europe, with no movement in score year-over-year. According to Korn Ferry, the sense of purpose at work remains a top priority for employees across the APAC region. Despite the emphasis on purpose, APAC is currently scoring low on this aspect, with short-term business pressures distorting the focus on long-term purpose.

Many HR leaders are grappling with how to balance immediate business needs with nurturing a culture of purpose. Research from Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey - which looks at data from 22,800 respondents across 44 countries including those in the APAC region - indicates that a whopping 9 in 10 Gen Z (86%) and Millennials (89%) say having a sense of purpose in their work is very or somewhat important to their overall job satisfaction and wellbeing.  With the growing recognition that younger generations crave a sense of meaning from their work, this necessitates a new leadership approach focused on purpose-driven engagement.

To strengthen employees’ sense of purpose:

1. Align purpose to the employee value proposition, customer value proposition, and social good
2. Communicate your organisation’s purpose clearly and often
3. Recognise employees when they further or demonstrate your purpose

For further insights, refer to the Purpose chapter in the 2019 Global Culture Report.

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Elevating Engagement

Engagement scores in APAC continue to be lower than those in other regions (Europe being the exception). Qualtrics’ 2024 Employee Experience Trends: Asia-Pacific & Japan report supports our research in illustrating the regional disparity on this metric, finding that 67% of employees in Singapore, 66% in Australia, and 83% in the Philippines feel engaged, while only 38% of employees in Japan feel the same. This disparity reflects significant differences in cultural and workplace dynamics across APAC, and where consolidated regional scores can sometimes be misleading.

While top-quartile employee engagement remains elusive, high-engagement and high-performing companies do several things well:

1. Have a strong workplace culture that prioritises purpose, opportunity, success, wellbeing, and appreciation
2. Have leaders that practice modern leadership skills of mentoring, advocating, developing, and recognising their people
3. Build workspaces that are inclusive, flexible, and demonstrate care for employees

To explore this topic further, read the Engagement Revisited chapter from our 2022 Global Culture Report.

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Finding Fulfilment

Based on our research, APAC ranks second lowest for fulfilment, with no change in scores from the previous year. Organisations must understand the critical role fulfilment plays in employee engagement and satisfaction. Creating insights and actionable strategies related to fulfilment is essential for fostering a culture of engagement and commitment.

Korn Ferry's Global Total Rewards Pulse Survey highlights the pressing need to enhance workplace fulfilment. Australia (15%), New Zealand (15%) and Hong Kong (14%) appear to have some of the highest global median turnover rates, with voluntary exits making up 66% (7.5%) of the global median turnover of 11.4%. APAC countries like Singapore and Malaysia also exceeded the global median, suggesting that the region shares a challenge in meeting employee needs. To address these trends, organisations are focusing on market-relevant base pay, enhanced benefit programs and increased investment in training and development initiatives. More than half of organisations surveyed have implemented or plan to introduce programs designed to retain key talent. Over the past two years, 50% of surveyed companies have made significant adjustments to their reward strategies, with 60% planning further changes. Building fulfilling workplaces with recognition, flexibility, and meaningful rewards is critical – not just for reducing turnover but for driving long-term engagement and satisfaction in a competitive talent market.

Organisations can help employees find fulfilment through:

1. Encouraging flexibility and balance

2. Strengthening community, connection, and belonging through, among other things, fostering work environments where appreciation and gratitude are natural

3. Providing purpose, meaning, and growth at work

For a deeper understanding, refer to the Finding Fulfilment chapter of the 2023 Global Culture Report.

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Conclusion

The insights from the 2025 Global Culture Report underscore the urgent need for HR professionals and people leaders in the APAC region to address the pressing challenges facing the workforce. By focusing on surviving, thriving, wellbeing, emotional intelligence, purpose, engagement, and fulfilment, organisations can create a more resilient and engaged workforce. As we move forward, it is essential to implement strategies that prioritise employee needs, foster a supportive culture, and drive meaningful change.

For more comprehensive country-specific insights, we invite you to view our ‘State of Culture: APAC Findings’ data downloadable.