by AUFA MARDHIAH / pic MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

A MAJORITY or 59% of Malaysian workers are satisfied with their job but up to 17% of them are likely to seek a new job in the next 12 months.

Up to 69% of Malaysian respondents said that financial compensation is the leading factor for employees to stay or leave their jobs based on PwC’s Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022 (Malaysia report).

The survey was conducted on 2,086 Malaysian workers regarding technology, employment and skills against work today.

Other than that, 66% of the Malaysian respondents also seek job fulfilment compared to 69% of global respondents.

In terms of skill sets, 32% of employees agree that Malaysia lacks people with the skills to do their kind of work and 42% agree that their job requires specialised training — which leads them to realise their worth; 32% are likely to ask for a raise and 28% likely to ask for a promotion in the next 12 months.

“When it comes to pay and progression, are employers ready to have this conversation amid today’s economic backdrop? And are they doing enough to ensure that the skills gap continues to narrow?” PwC Malaysia deputy executive chair Nurul A’in Abdul Latif said in a statement today.

“Although employees appear to be less worried about being replaced by technology, this doesn’t mean they don’t see the need to upskill. While Malaysian respondents are seeing efforts made by their employers to upskill workers, they seem concerned about not getting relevant training related to technical or digital skills. 

It’s this training relevancy that must be addressed because you wouldn’t want your efforts to go to waste,” she added.

Despite the joys of working leisurely, the new norm working approach may impact employees’ sense of community and connection with colleagues and the company culture (especially Gen Z — those who joined the workforce during the pandemic). Hence, organisations need to find ways to re-engage them and ensure that steps are taken to create a cohesive and inclusive culture that employees can participate.

“With many organisations incorporating hybrid work models, leaders need to be aware of tendencies such as proximity bias. A mindset change may be required so ‘face-time’ is not equated with greater commitment or performance. There’s also the challenge of ensuring that hybrid working is able to facilitate peer-to-peer learning, given 49% of Malaysian respondents worry about the lack of opportunities in working with or learning from colleagues with advanced technical or digital skills,” added Nurul.

Furthermore, the study reveals that Malaysian workers call for greater transparency in the environmental, social and governance considerations. 

About 65% of Malaysian respondents rated transparency in organisational impact on the economy, followed by 64% of the organisation’s recorded protecting worker health and safety. 

However, only 31% of Malaysians said that their company provides support and resources to help them minimise the environmental impact of their job. In a way, this can be seen as an opportunity for organisation’s to foster a sense of purpose among employees and make them understand the measures taken to reduce carbon footprint, as well as finding out actions that can contribute to lasting changes.