The pandemic has caused Malaysian workers to reassess their priorities and for 50% of Malaysians, their career is no longer one of them. With 58% of Malaysian employees stating they suffer from burnout and 51% stating that they have an average or even poor work-life balance, new research by Employment Hero found that employers can play a much bigger role in employee wellbeing in order to maintain and attract talent.
Burnout can be triggered by a combination of different factors, and amongst the Malaysian workforce, the pandemic’s impact on their job, as well as their mental health seem to be the key drivers. The Employee Wellness Report, which polled over 1,000 Malaysian employees, found that as many as 51% of employees said that the pandemic has negatively impacted their career progression. The research also showed that 67% of Malaysian workers are stressed about their finances.
Fortunately, Malaysian employers are starting to take steps to address burnout and offer greater mental health support, with 50% of employees agreeing that their company is very supportive of employees’ mental health. Despite this, it was also found that 50% of employees are uncomfortable discussing mental health issues in the workplace, and 49% of employees are concerned that reporting mental health issues would lead to repercussions in the workplace.
While these may seem like tough challenges to tackle, there are valuable rewards to be gained by businesses that choose to focus on employee wellness, with employees who rated their employer’s commitment to wellness as good stating they were 32% more likely to agree the were loyal as a result.
“The past couple of years have been eye-opening for a lot of us, so it’s unsurprising that at large, priorities have changed for many. The need for greater work-life balance was already clear before the pandemic, but with many employees feeling the aftermath of these tumultuous years in the forms of mental health issues and burnout, the workplace needs to adapt in order to create a working environment that is able to retain and attract top talent,” said Ben Thompson, CEO, and Co-founder of Employment Hero.
“From our report, it’s clear that employees are seeking mental health support, balance, and education, and employers must step up and offer the right resources to create a happy and productive workforce. By taking small steps in the right direction such as increasing mental health support budgets, prioritising financial education, and implementing remote working practices that enable a greater work-life balance, employers can quickly pivot towards the kind of people-first approach that employees will truly be able to appreciate,” said Thompson.
“Ultimately, workers will stay with companies that support them, and leave the ones that don’t, so in order to retain top-tier talent and foster a successful workforce, it’s critical for employers to take these demands to take action where it’s most needed,” Thompson added.
