Other top reasons are lack of clear career path and opportunity to grow, also 47 percent, and unpleasant relationships with peers (29 percent), according to a survey released by jobs company Talentnet and its global counterpart Mercer.

The survey, which polled 118 companies in Vietnam, forecast an average base salary increase of 8.8 percent across the board this year, the highest rate in the last three years.

Life sciences and technology will see the highest salary growth at 9.1 percent, followed by chemicals (9 percent), and banking/financial services (8.6 percent).

In terms of bonuses, the banking/financial services sector rewarded its employees highest last year with an average of 25.4 percent of base salary, up 5 percentage points from 2017.

It was followed by life sciences (18.5 percent), technology (16.6 percent) and chemicals (16.3 percent). Overall, the average bonus stayed the same at 16.2 percent of base salary.

The survey dovetails perfectly with another survey by recruitment firm VietnamWorks last November, which found that 78 percent of Vietnamese workers looked forward to new jobs in 2019 with better chances for career advancement and better salaries.