Gen Z is now Southeast Asia’s dominant workforce cohort. In markets like the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, over 57% of the active workforce is already millennial + Gen Z, and by 2030, this group will make up three out of every four employees in the region.

They’re young, ambitious — and highly mobile. The preliminary results of our 2025 APAC workforce pulse study reported that 38% of Gen Zs plan to switch employers within the next 12 months, the highest of any generation. That’s a retention alarm bell every CEO should be hearing loud and clear.

At Betterteem, where we analyze resignation-risk signals across Southeast Asian workforces, we consistently see the same trends.

Below is what the data, the market, and our own predictive insights are telling us about Gen Z retention today.

1. Flexibility Matters — But Structure Matters More

Across ASEAN, Gen Z consistently ranks work–life integration and schedule flexibility as their top reasons to stay — often above compensation. In our ASEAN-based workforce survey, 68% of Gen Z employees preferred hybrid work, while only 12% wanted a fully remote setup. They want autonomy, but also belonging.

What works in the region:

• Hybrid with clarity: Core collaboration hours, clear workflows, and fewer ad-hoc meetings.
• Outcome-based evaluation: Gen Z responds better to performance frameworks that reward output, not hours logged.
• Predictable rhythms: In BPO-driven markets like the Philippines, shift predictability is a retention lever often overlooked.

Betterteem data shows that employees with consistent scheduling patterns are 23–30% less likely to show early signs of disengagement.

2. Career Growth Isn’t a “Nice to Have” — It’s the Dealbreaker

Globally, 76% of Gen Zs prioritize learning and development as a key reason to stay with an employer. In Southeast Asia, where upward mobility is strongly tied to family expectations and financial stability, this pressure is even sharper.

But here’s the mismatch: In our regional retention assessments, nearly 50% of high-potential Gen Zs report “unclear career pathways” as their top frustration — a leading predictor of resignation risk within six months.

What keeps them?

• Micro-upskilling (short courses, certifications, internal projects)
• Transparent promotion criteria
• Managers who coach, not micromanage
• AI-assisted internal mobility matching (the same way LinkedIn recruits them externally)

When the path ahead is clear, turnover risk drops fast.

3. Mental Health, Burnout, and the Hidden Cost of Stress

The preliminary results of our 2025 ASEAN employee index found Gen Z workers to be the most stressed generation in the region — with 54% reporting burnout symptoms and over 60% citing financial stress as a major contributor.

Our own models at Betterteem show that rising burnout signals — increased absenteeism variability, declining engagement sentiment, late-night digital activity — correlate with a 3× higher likelihood of resignation within 180 days.

What works:

• Normalizing mental health days
• Providing confidential counseling channels
• Actively monitoring workload imbalance through data, not guesswork
• Equipping managers with scripts and nudges for supportive conversations

When well-being improves, so does retention. Treating mental health as a KPI is no longer optional.

4. Purpose, Local Impact, and Values That Aren’t Performative

In Southeast Asia, “purpose” shows up differently. For Gen Z, it’s not just sustainability and diversity statements. They look for tangible, locally relevant impact — education, climate resilience, poverty alleviation, community support.

Trends in our 2025 regional data showed that 71% of Gen Z employees are more loyal to companies with visible social-impact work. And when they participate in CSR initiatives — not just watch leadership announce them — retention jumps significantly.

Practical moves:

• Let Gen Z co-design CSR programs
• Fund small, local, high-visibility initiatives
• Share impact stories transparently
• Align company mission with everyday work, not annual events

Purpose without authenticity loses them instantly.

5. The Trust Issue: Gen Z Wants Tech, but Not Surveillance

Gen Z is deeply comfortable with AI — but they’re also the generation that cares the most about privacy, fairness, transparency, and psychological safety.

Our data across workforces in Asia show that 60% of Gen Zs are concerned about how employers use their data. Meanwhile, organizations using ethical, transparent people-analytics frameworks report up to 38% higher trust scores among younger workers.

Betterteem’s approach is built around this reality:

• We only analyze retention-relevant signals
• We avoid invasive monitoring
• We emphasize transparency, consent, and meaningful interventions
• We use AI to support managers — not to surveil employees

When AI is framed as support rather than control, trust rises. And trust is retention.

The CEO Takeaway: Retention Is Now a Data Problem and a Leadership Problem

For Southeast Asian CEOs, the Gen Z retention challenge isn’t about giving out beanbags or TikTok-friendly culture slogans. It’s about redesigning the employee experience around what younger talent truly values — and using data to act before issues compound.

Across Betterteem’s client base, organizations that adopt predictive retention intelligence see:

• 20–35% reduction in preventable turnover
• Higher manager responsiveness due to early nudges
• Better workload balance
• More equitable access to growth opportunities
• A stronger culture of wellbeing and trust

The companies winning Gen Z today are the ones treating retention as both a science and a human responsibility.

Final Thought

Gen Z isn’t hard to retain. They just have higher standards — standards that force companies to be better: more transparent, more structured, more human, and more data-informed. For leaders ready to build a retention strategy built for the next decade, not the last one, AI-driven retention intelligence is no longer “nice to have.” It’s the new competitive edge.