KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia has entered the recovery phase, businesses are still grappling with the possibility of continuing working from home until the Covid-19 vaccine has been widely distributed.
In the first half of Workmonitor survey by human resources solutions agency Randstad Malaysia, 69 per cent of respondents in Malaysia had indicated their preference to work-from-home (WFH) until the Covid-19 vaccine had been widely distributed.
The survey said this was the highest in the region, with Singapore, China and Hong Kong trailing at 67 per cent, 45 per cent and 48 per cent respectively.
Randstad Malaysia head of operations Fahad Naeem said it was not a surprise that people put a premium on their health and safety during a pandemic.
Naeem said in doing so, workers also expected their employers to take added precautionary measures to safeguard their health and safety.
"At the minimum, companies should implement stringent health and safety procedures and allow those who are able to work from home to do so.
"Employers should also strengthen their workforce's herd immunity by actively encouraging workers who are able to do so to take the vaccine," he said.
According to the survey, 73 per cent of respondents would not feel safe in their workplace until their co-workers were vaccinated
Meanwhile, more than seven in 10 respondents in Malaysia said they would feel unsafe in their workplace until others around them were fully inoculated against Covid-19, 12 per cent higher than their Singaporean counterparts (61 per cent).
"Of the respondents who were working on-site amid the pandemic, 55 per cent said they felt continuously at risk of Covid-19 infection.
"Almost three in five (59 per cent) of respondents saw their productivity levels suffer as they were perpetually stressed about getting infected with Covid-19 at their workplace and compromising the health of their loved ones.
"Despite their health and safety concerns, less than one in two respondents (47 per cent) said that their employers have incentivised them to get vaccinated against Covid-19," it said.
In spite of the potential health and safety implications and sharp spikes in the number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, the survey indicated that 64 per cent of respondents said that their employers would like them to work on-site.
However, only 49 per cent of respondents agreed that their job could not be performed remotely.
Naeem said although many companies were eager to return to pre-pandemic activity levels, there was no rush to do so especially when the country was still experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases.
"We already know that many employees find themselves more productive and less stressed when working from home, so there is a clear rising employee expectation for hybrid or remote work options.
"It is hence critical for leaders to start reimagining the future of work, which will drive home the need for new work policies, digital investments and revised office designs to enable hybrid work arrangements and higher work productivity," he said.
The survey was conducted in March 2021 across 34 markets around the world with a minimum of 400 respondents in each market.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/business/2021/08/718281/most-malaysians-prefer-wfh-highest-among-regional-countries-randstad-survey