During the epidemic, many studies and research have pointed out that hybrid work will be the trend and the future of work in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, these reports will also show you how hybrid work is bringing some trends in Malaysia, and this future trend you should know.
Table of Contents
What is Hybrid work?
Hybrid work is an approach that takes into account the individual’s needs, whether they’re at home or at the office. Our platform enables people to work from any location, and move between sites as needed.
Many organizations see hybrid work as the evolution of remote working, allowing employers to better integrate remote working into overall business processes while providing comparable work experience for remote workers.
The pandemic has proven that organisations can and must trust their people to be productive from anywhere, and anytime. Leaders now have the opportunity to define a hybrid workplace strategy that combines the best of the digital workplace and the physical workplace.
This includes empowering people with the flexibility and autonomy of remote work and enabling the crucial human connection with colleagues and customers in person.
Michal Golebiewski, Chief Marketing & Operations Officer, Microsoft Malaysia
In the report “Making Flexible Work, Work: Towards Better and More Inclusive
Work-Life Practices” from Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei Darussalam, there are several excellent definitions for flexible working terms:
Work-Life Practices (WLPs)
Various work-life integration forms support, including leave, support networks, facilities, etc. This includes Flexible Work Arrangements.
Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs)
Flexibility in the time and location of work. This includes Work From Home arrangements.
These arrangements aim to provide greater flexibility
in the following areas: the workplace, scheduling of hours worked, number of
hours worked and flexibility of job roles.
The top FWAs in the Life at Work Survey were:
- Flexi Hours (48%)
- Leaving Early From Work (34%)
- Staggered Hours (22%)
- Job Sharing (19%)
- Work-From-Home/Telecommuting (16%)
Work-From-Home (WFH)
A subset of FWAs, in which employees may work remotely some or all of the time.
Learn more:
Post-MCO Safety Guidelines Info Page
How can hybrid working help Singaporeans and their companies save their daily expenses now?
20+ Questions for your Hybrid Working Employee Survey
Why Hybrid Working is the winner in the APAC region? Experts explain.
Hiredly’s 2022 Work Culture Report
Malaysia Hybrid work statistics
Hybrid work is preferred across ASEAN markets
The Cisco study highlighted that hybrid work is now preferred by many employees across ASEAN markets:
- Malaysia – 74%
- Singapore – 71%
- Indonesia – 84%
- Vietnam – 76%
- Thailand – 69%
- The Philippines – 60%
The support for hybrid work extends beyond employees as well — with 90% of employees saying their employers have been supportive of hybrid working. In particular, 46% said their employers have been supportive, while 44% said their employers have been very supportive.
(Cisco)
Malaysian get used to the long-term WFH and enjoy its benefits
A 2021 report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) found that 80% of Malaysian employees prefer WFH (Work-from-home) weekly, with almost half preferring to do so at least three days a week.
Data shows that rigid return-to-office policies negatively impact employees with anxiety and work-related stress.
(UNDP)
Malaysian Government support hybrid working
The Malaysian Government announced that employees can apply for Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) with their employers under the amendment to the Employment Act 1955, which will come into force on September 1, 2022.
It reflects that the Malaysian Government agreed that flexible work is very important to employees.
Redesign office space for hybrid work
To prepare for implementing hybrid work, business leaders (62%) in Malaysia are considering redesigning office space for hybrid work.
Emerging hybrid working trends in Malaysia
Flexible work is here to stay in Malaysia
According to a survey by Microsoft, 77 % of workers in Malaysia surveyed want flexible remote work options to continue.
Although people working remotely can save daily expenses, 42% of Malaysian employees said that they lack essential office supplies at home, and one in 10 don’t have an adequate internet connection to do their job.
Yet, over 46% say their employer does not help them with remote work expenses. Therefore, remote work can not satisfy all the needs of employees, so they still have a certain of necessity to return to the office.
Immediate response between employees
The outbreak has led to the development of collaborative working tools, where colleagues working remotely can get immediate feedback and work seamlessly.
However, some colleagues still need face-to-face responses to requests for help.
According to Microsoft’s survey, 75% of employees want more face-to-face time with their teams. And face-to-face responses can avoid the misunderstandings that come with a text-only response.
Half of the business leaders surveyed are faring better than their employees. Research shows that 46 percent of leaders in Malaysia say they are “thriving” right now – 16 percentage points higher than those without decision-making power.
Talent is everywhere in a hybrid work world
The remote working method supports employees to work regardless of borders and distance, eliminating the must for employees to return to the office.
47 % of Microsoft’s respondents surveyed in Malaysia are planning to move to a new location this year.
This indicates that people no longer have to leave their desks, house, or community to expand their career opportunities.
This has also led to 45% of workers and 57% of Gen Zs in Malaysia likely to consider leaving their employers this year. Remote job postings on LinkedIn more than quintupled during the pandemic.
Gen Zers suffer at work and need to be re-energized
The Gen-Z’ers are the future leaders. They are empowered and entrepreneurial, influential and independent, confident and competent, and are always looking to make a difference in the community in which they live.
However, 69% of Gen Z (those between the ages of 18 and 25) say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling right now. The reason is that they feel work lonely since the move to fully remote work.
Since the move to fully remote work…Without hallway conversations, chance encounters, and small talk over coffee, it’s hard to feel connected even to my immediate team, much less build meaningful connections across the company.
Hannah McConnaughey, Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft
Gen Z also reported that it is difficult for them to feel engaged or excited about their work. Ensuring that Gen Z feels a sense of purpose and well-being is an urgent imperative in the shift to hybrid.
Authenticity will stimulate happiness
According to Cisco’s recent study, 86% of Malaysian employees say the ability to work from anywhere has made them happier.
(Cisco)
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s report shows that co-workers rely on each other in new ways in the past year. Some interactions are working virtually, for example:
- 22%: Workers in Malaysia have cried with a colleague;
- 14%: while others met with co-workers’ pets; or
- 26%: family members virtually.
These increased interactions resulted in 44% of workers in Malaysia feeling they could be their fully authentic selves at work this year.
Improved employees’ productivity and relive their stress
Cisco’s study found that 60% of employees in Malaysia believe that the quality of work has improved because they work under less stress without supervisors’ monitoring, and 55% of respondents felt that their productivity has enhanced because they have flexible work hours.
However, only 20% of Malaysian employees think that their company is “very prepared” for a hybrid work future.
Moreover, some companies plan to change their offices as the co-working space to support their staff work more relaxed to increase their productivity, so the directors of those decided to provide a friendly environment to their staff.
A Shared office in Malaysia, Jaya One Common Ground, which recently opened in Petaling Jaya, encourages staff to bring their dogs or cats along for work.
(Cisco)
Network growth endangers company culture and sense of belonging
Before the pandemic, staff bonding was based on regular gatherings in the office and face-to-face communication at work.
Anonymized collaboration trends between billions of Outlook emails and Microsoft Teams meetings reveal a clear trend: the shift to remote shrunk our networks.
Teams are more siloed in a digital work world. 38% of workers in Malaysia experienced decreased interactions with coworkers with the move to remote work. Lack of interactions with the immediate team will damage new staff to foster a sense of belonging to their companies, and it might lead to loss the talent easily.
Solving Malaysia’s social problem and saving workers daily costs
After COVID-19 restrictions eased, many companies in Malaysia have switched back to in-office culture and required staff to report to work physically.
However, traffic data has shown that road congestion levels in Kuala Lumpur are worse than before the pandemic, as people commute to work again and students head back to school.
Congestion at peak hours in the mornings and evenings has been consistently worse compared to 2019 and 2020. If people have flexible work, they can choose their work location. Also, they can save their daily expenses on commuting.
(TomTom)
More sustainable working method
Hybrid workspaces accommodate technological advances, the use of hot desking and room rotation features, etc., which will reduce the resource requirements of the office.
As mentioned above, flexible working helps to reduce carbon emissions from regularly commuting, as well as retaining and attracting talent.
The offices, which implement hybrid working, provide a variety of creating different types of innovative and stimulating workspaces, such as brainstorming rooms and entertainment zones.
According to Microsoft’s report, 58% of workers in Malaysia always feel overworked and exhausted, thus these facilities can help them to take rest and refill their energy for back to work.
And Cisco’s study also found that the majority of Malaysian respondents (73.5%) would prefer a hybrid arrangement in the future.
(Cisco)
Strategies for business leaders to make the necessary shift
Microsoft Work Trend Index identifies five strategies for business leaders as they begin to make the necessary shift:
- Create a plan to empower people for extreme flexibility
- Invest in space and technology to bridge the physical and digital worlds
- Combat digital exhaustion from the top
- Prioritize rebuilding social capital and culture
- Rethink employee experience to compete for the best and most diverse talent
Your Hybrid Working System: ONES
To implement hybrid working in your office, you should have a comprehensive office management system. ONES Smart office system is one of the famous management systems that can help you to easily implement hybrid working at ease.
You can easily perform virtual meetings, desk-hoteling, and digital office management with our Room Booking, Desk Booking, and Visitor Management features, in order to improve your office productivity, retain your talents and make your office more secure.
Contact us: hello@ones.software, or visit ONES Software official website for more information: https://ones.software/my/.