Randstad Malaysia: Work Life Balance Research

Randstad Malaysia: 29% Gen-Zers changed profession to improve work-life balance

This independent study was conducted among 2,524 respondents in Malaysia from 163,000 respondents across 31 markets in January 2022

by AUFA MARDHIAH published on October 3rd, 2022 at the Malaysia Reserve website

RANDSTAD Malaysia’s 2022 Employer Brand Research reported that 29% of Gen Z respondents (aged 18 to 25) changed professions to improve their work-life balance, compared to 21% of Gen X workers (aged 45 to 57) that prefers working fewer overtime hours to enhance their work-life balance.

This independent study was conducted among 2,524 respondents in Malaysia from 163,000 respondents across 31 markets in January 2022.
Advertisement

Randstad Malaysia country director Fahad Naeem said it’s not a surprise that employees prefer more work flexibility after the pandemic.

“They want to gain better control over how they get to spend their time at work and in their personal lives. Employers that expect their workers to return to the office full-time may face some resistance from their workforce, which may lead to higher attrition rates as people go on to search for companies that offer flexible work.

“Being at the early stages of their careers, Gen-Zers are more likely to take the risk to switch to employers that are able to meet their expectations. Meanwhile, Millennials are likely to negotiate their roles and responsibilities so that they can continue working for the same company, indicating that they prioritise having job stability. Some of these negotiations may include job rotation, career promotion or a reduction of workload,” he said in a statement today.

Millennials prefer flexible working choices; while Gen X workers want employers to provide healthcare benefits to improve their work-life balance. On the other hand, more than half of Gen Z (54%) want their companies to give wellness and mental health support.

The top three employee value proposition factors as assessed by various work generations are salary and benefits (65% Gen-Zers, 74% millennials, 77% Gen-Xers); strong management (64% Gen-Zers, 71% both millennials and Gen-Xers); work-life balance (63% Gen-Zers, 64% millennials and 66% Gen-Xers).

However, the research also revealed that Gen-Zers are the most afraid of losing their jobs with 43% and millennials are most likely to switch jobs with 35% who want to switch jobs and 18% who switched jobs.

On the current working arrangements in Malaysia — 49% of Gen Z, Millennials (52%) and Gen X (49%) — are working fully or partially remotely; among employees who expect work to become fully remotely in the future — 20% for Gen Z, Millennials (16%) and Gen X (15%).

On employee expectations of work-life balance, Gen-Zers prefer 59% of healthcare benefits, 54% of wellness and mental health support and salary protection (52%); while Millennials prefer 55% of flexible work, healthcare benefits (52%) and learning and development (50%). On the other hand, Gen-Xers vouch for 55% healthcare benefits, flexible work arrangements (52%) and salary protection (50%).

The Gen-Zers seek better lifestyle and healthcare support from their employers, says Naeem – pic credit: randstad.com.my

The research also found a mismatch between learning expectations and opportunities — for instance, 84% of Millennials said that personal and professional growth are important compared to 82% Gen-Zers and 71% of Gen-Xers, against 65% of Gen-Zers received opportunities to develop in their role compared to 63% millennials and 51% Gen-Xers.

On the key takeaways in building a diverse talent pipeline, the research suggested for employers to package and promote HR initiatives, as well as benefits to each generation differently besides working with employees to showcase the company’s work-life benefit because work-life balance varies for every generation, and focusing on strong and transparent leadership.

Commenting on the survey results, Naeem said: “The younger generations seek better lifestyle and healthcare support from their employers. Employers will need to take time to engage with their employees through surveys and discussions to not just understand their needs, but also take actionable steps to introduce new HR initiatives to build a healthier and more productive workforce.

“Our employees at Randstad Malaysia work at home up to three days a week and they also enjoy flexible working hours. All employees also get three days of family care leave on top of their annual leave days to spend more time with their loved ones, especially for momentous occasions such as graduations and birthdays.

“By removing the stress of having to be at work on time and creating more focus time for them, our employees are able to perform better at work and create more career progression opportunities for themselves,” Naeem further added.