Gen Z is reshaping ASEAN workplaces as employers demand stronger soft skills, adaptability and digital capabilities amid AI-driven transformation.
JAKARTA – The debate over whether companies are becoming more reluctant to hire Generation Z reflects a broader transformation taking place across the global labour market. In Southeast Asia, the issue is particularly relevant as businesses face rapid digitalisation, the expansion of artificial intelligence and an increasingly competitive regional talent market.
Gen Z is entering the workforce with a distinct set of strengths. Having grown up in a highly connected digital environment, many young workers are comfortable with technology, online collaboration and rapidly changing digital platforms. Yet employers are increasingly looking beyond technical familiarity when assessing early-career candidates.
Communication, adaptability, resilience, teamwork and leadership are becoming equally important. The changing expectations illustrate a wider shift in the definition of employability, particularly as technology begins to automate more routine tasks.
A Regional Talent Challenge
The issue cannot be viewed solely as a generational disagreement between young employees and employers. It is part of a much larger transformation in ASEAN labour markets.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 found that employers across South-Eastern Asia are particularly focused on workforce upskilling and hiring people with new skills. Some 96% of employers headquartered in the region identified upskilling as a key workforce strategy, compared with 85% globally, while 86% planned to hire employees with new skills.
These figures point to an important reality: companies are not simply looking for more workers. They are looking for workers with capabilities that match a rapidly changing economy.
For Gen Z, this creates both an opportunity and a challenge. Digital fluency can provide an advantage, but it needs to be supported by the ability to communicate effectively, solve problems, collaborate and respond constructively to feedback.
Soft Skills Are Becoming Strategic
The growing importance of soft skills is particularly significant as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into everyday work.
Deloitte’s Southeast Asia research found that more than 86% of Gen Z respondents and 85% of millennials consider soft skills such as empathy, leadership, emotional intelligence and adaptability important for career success. The research also highlights how automation is increasing the relative value of uniquely human capabilities, including critical thinking, creativity and interpersonal communication.
This suggests that the debate about Gen Z should not be reduced to whether young workers are sufficiently “hard-working” or “work-ready”.
The more relevant question is whether education systems, employers and young professionals are developing the combination of technical and human capabilities required by the next generation of jobs.
AI Is Changing Entry-Level Work
The rise of generative AI is adding another layer of complexity.
Many traditional entry-level positions involve repetitive administrative, research or content-related tasks that can increasingly be supported by AI tools. This has raised concerns among young workers that the conventional entry point into the labour market could become more difficult.
Deloitte’s 2025 Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that 61% of Gen Z and millennial respondents were concerned that generative AI could make it harder for younger generations to enter the workforce because it may automate tasks traditionally assigned to entry-level employees. At the same time, 74% of Gen Z respondents believed GenAI would affect the way they work within the following year.
The implications are significant for ASEAN economies, many of which are undergoing rapid digital transformation.
Rather than simply eliminating opportunities, AI is likely to change the skills required to access them. Young workers who understand how to use AI while retaining strong analytical and interpersonal capabilities could therefore become increasingly valuable.
ASEAN’s Talent Competition Is Becoming More Regional
Another important factor is the growing mobility of skilled workers across Southeast Asia.
The World Economic Forum describes the region’s talent landscape as increasingly borderless, with skilled professionals—particularly those in emerging and technical fields—moving across national borders. This is increasing competition among companies and encouraging businesses to invest more strategically in upskilling and reskilling.
For employers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other ASEAN markets, the competition for young talent therefore extends beyond domestic labour markets.
A talented young professional can increasingly compare opportunities across countries, particularly in technology, finance, digital services, engineering and other internationally transferable fields.
This development puts pressure on companies to offer not only competitive salaries, but also meaningful career development, learning opportunities and supportive workplace cultures.
Gen Z Is Also Redefining Career Success
The expectations of Gen Z are also changing the traditional employer-employee relationship.
Deloitte’s 2025 global survey found that only 6% of Gen Z respondents identified reaching a senior leadership position as their primary career goal. Instead, learning and development, work-life balance, career progression, financial security and meaningful work rank highly in their employment decisions.
This does not necessarily indicate a lack of ambition.
Rather, it suggests that younger workers increasingly define professional success in broader terms. Career development is not always measured by how quickly someone reaches the top of an organisational hierarchy.
For ASEAN companies, understanding this shift could be important for attracting and retaining young talent.
Employers Also Have a Role
The responsibility for workplace readiness cannot rest entirely on Gen Z.
Companies also need to consider how effectively they train and develop early-career employees. Deloitte’s global research found that around half of Gen Z respondents want managers to teach and mentor them, but only 36% said this happens in practice.
This represents an important leadership gap.
Young employees may enter the workplace with strong digital capabilities but limited professional experience. Without effective mentoring and feedback, even highly capable individuals may struggle to understand organisational expectations.
ASEAN companies can address this through structured onboarding, mentoring programmes, practical training, cross-functional assignments and continuous learning.
Such investments are particularly important as the regional economy becomes increasingly skills-driven.
From Hiring to Building Talent
The ASEAN labour market is moving towards a model in which companies cannot rely solely on recruiting people who already possess every required skill.
The World Economic Forum notes that one-fifth of jobs in Southeast Asia are expected to change over the next five years, while employers are increasingly focusing on reskilling and moving workers from declining roles into growing ones. AI and sustainability-related occupations are among the areas expected to experience significant growth.
This makes adaptability one of the most valuable characteristics of a modern workforce.
For Gen Z, the lesson is clear: being digitally native is an advantage, but it is only one component of professional competitiveness. Communication, critical thinking, resilience, teamwork and the willingness to keep learning will increasingly determine career progression.
For companies, the lesson is equally important. Instead of viewing Gen Z primarily through stereotypes, employers can assess young talent based on skills, potential and capacity to grow.
A Shared Responsibility for ASEAN’s Future Workforce
The debate surrounding Gen Z ultimately points toward a larger question for ASEAN: how can the region prepare its workforce for an economy where technology, skills and jobs are changing simultaneously?
The answer will require cooperation among employers, educational institutions, governments and workers.
Young professionals need opportunities to build practical capabilities. Businesses need to invest in human capital. Educational institutions need to ensure that learning remains connected to evolving labour-market requirements. Governments, meanwhile, have an important role in supporting skills development and labour-market transitions.
ASEAN’s demographic and economic diversity means that there will be no single solution. However, the direction is increasingly clear: employability will depend less on age or academic credentials alone and more on a person’s ability to learn, adapt and create value.
Gen Z is therefore not simply a generation entering the workplace. It is part of a broader transformation in how work itself is organised.
The companies that recognise this shift early may be better positioned to compete for talent across ASEAN. And the young professionals who combine digital capability with strong human skills may become some of the region’s most valuable contributors to the future economy.
