KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — A job survey out yesterday paints a depressing picture of Malaysian employers, revealing their reluctance to allow flexible working arrangements and to hire more women or older workers.
Employers in Malaysia are the least likely in the region to allow flexible work environments, even though just under a third feel that such working arrangements could help them retain workers, according to a survey by employment agency Ranstad.
“Management concerns about employee productivity is cited as the biggest barrier to implementing flexible work arrangements (at 48 per cent), followed by lack of leadership to champion flexible work (13 per cent) and technological limitations (11 per cent),” Ranstad’s World of Work Report said.
Nearly two-thirds of employees, on the other hand, said having the option to work remotely would give them greater job satisfaction.
The report also showed employers lagging in other areas.
Even with the country’s ageing population and low birth rate, only 12 per cent of employers said they intended to recruit more women, and just 10 per cent said they intended to hire mature-age workers.
The report surveyed more than 14,000 employers and professionals across the Asia-Pacific region.
Randstad Malaysia director Jasmin Kaur said the findings were worrying as employers were failing to take advantage of the government’s measures to encourage flexible working.
“Using contractors, freelancers and virtual on-demand workers can also help to create greater levels of workforce flexibility,” she said in a statement.
The report found that in the next five to 10 years, a quarter of Malaysian employers will recruit more temporary or contract workers.
Cultural diversity is also expected to grow, with 44 per cent of employers planning to hire more people from culturally diverse backgrounds, and 20 per cent looking to hire talent from overseas.
