Before Blaming Thai Employees, Look at the Signals Your Company Sends

There is an old saying among foreign executives doing business in Thailand: “Thai employees do not work hard.” They do only what they are told, do not speak up when problems arise, and leave when things become a little difficult. But the numbers tell a different story.

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, 34% of Thai employees were engaged in their work last year. That is above the global average of 20% and the Southeast Asian average of 25%. The figure rose from 15% in 2014, a gain of 19 percentage points and the largest improvement in Southeast Asia. Only 5% were actively disengaged, the category reflecting active dissatisfaction with their workplace.

Another finding deserves attention. The share of Thai employees classified as “thriving” in their lives was 41%, below the 48% recorded in 2014. Engagement at work has more than doubled, yet their broader sense of wellbeing remains below the level of a decade ago. Telling exhausted employees to work harder will not solve that problem.

The problem, then, is not simply attitude. The real cost lies elsewhere. In the same research, 60% of Thai employees were “not engaged.” They show up and do their assigned work, but do not go beyond it. Gallup estimated that low engagement cost the global economy approximately US$10 trillion in lost productivity last year, equivalent to 9% of global GDP.

Apply this to a factory and the sources of loss become visible: the moment a minor warning sign is noticed but ignored, a record is completed carelessly, or an experienced employee quietly leaves and a newcomer has to learn everything again. In a quality-certified factory, these losses quickly return as defects, rework and audit findings.

Where does the problem begin? In an HR Asia survey of more than 11,000 employees in Thai companies, cooperation among colleagues received the highest score, 4.65 out of five. Feeling involved in the company’s major decisions scored lowest at 3.93. The measure relating to energy and exhaustion at work was also among the lower-scoring areas, at 3.94. Thai employees work well together as teams, but they are not always being told why their work matters.

What SMEs can do now may be modest, but it is clear.

First, start by changing how supervisors and team leaders manage. Gallup repeatedly identifies managers as a key to engagement. Teaching frontline leaders to listen and explain, rather than merely issue instructions, is one of the least expensive investments a business can make.

Second, explain the reasons. When employees understand why a process is necessary and why a record matters, a checklist becomes part of their own work rather than a formality. In a culture where saving face matters, asking someone privately is far more effective than criticising them in public.

Third, involve employees in decisions, even small ones. Invite ideas for improving a process, and recognise contributors by name when their ideas are adopted. Even this can help turn someone who only follows instructions into someone who speaks up first.

I also have expectations of government and industry. Vocational training should extend beyond technical skills to leadership development for frontline managers in SMEs. Industry associations could organise shared management training for smaller factories that cannot maintain an HR department like a large corporation.

An employee’s attitude is often a response to the signals a company sends. Before blaming Thai employees, we should first consider what signals we ourselves are sending.

References

• Thai Employees Lead Southeast Asia in Engagement Gains – Gallup
• Thailand’s Employee Engagement Has More Than Doubled Over The Past Decade – Allwork.Space
• State of the Global Workplace 2026 – Gallup
• Global Employee Engagement Falls to Lowest Level Since 2020 – Gallup 공식 보도자료 / official release
• 60 Thai Employers Recognized at the HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2026 – Business Media International

Data note: Gallup’s Thailand figures use three-year rolling averages; rounding may cause percentages to total other than 100%. HR Asia surveyed 11,305 employees at 323 participating organisations, a different sample from Thailand’s workforce as a whole. The 3.94 score relates to energy and exhaustion at work.