A great majority of employees in Malaysia are seeking for job flexibility, recent Randstad study found. About 90 percent employees want to gain freedom for themselves to decide where, when, and how they should do their work. In a press release, Randstad noted that most respondents in the country believe that flexibility at work can increase work productivity and improve satisfaction towards their job.

However, job flexibility does not always come with privacy. Despite the high expectation for better authority at work, more than six in 10 employees surveyed (63 percent) admitted that such freedom might be interfering with their personal lives. It means that those who have easy access to work via digital devices such as laptop and smartphones might feel obliged to be ‘always on’. The gadgets make them unsure how and when to disconnect from work.

Owing to this sentiment, more than 3 in 4 employees in Malaysia (76 percent) still prefer to be physically present and work in the office during business hours. Therefore, office environment should encourage employees to focus better and help them clearly define the time they need to commit to work.

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Regarding the finding, Ryan Carroll, Country Director of Randstad Malaysia said, “Agile working is gaining popularity in Malaysia, as more and more employees want to have autonomy in the way they work.

“However, as much as technology has helped made it possible to be more productive and creative at work, it can be quite frustrating and intrusive for those who feel that they need to respond to emails immediately, even during the weekends. Flexible work arrangements can only improve work-life balance and boost productivity when ground rules are set and agreed upon between employers and their staff.”

Interestingly, this opinion is mostly shared by Millennials as 68 percent feel more pressure to be ‘always-on’, compared to the 39 percent mature workers aged between 55 and 67 who believe so. Mature workers are also more likely to prefer agile working as they believe that it can improve their overall job satisfaction, with all employees aged between 55 and 67 agreeing with this statement. The same demographic also said that flexible work arrangement plays a significant part in improving their work-life balance.

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