JobStreet: Malaysian workers not getting enough family time

• 60% say their company not carrying out any initiatives to promote work-life balance
• Mobile/ BYOD threat: Only 25% are not interrupted about work during their holidays

IN an informal JobStreet.com poll, 63% of Malaysian workers surveyed said they have not been spending enough time with their family due to long working hours. Nearly 70% spend two to five hours working beyond their official work-hours every day.
 
The main reason respondents gave for working overtime was unreasonable deadlines and an overloading of work. With greater pressures on workers to complete their task, work-days easily go beyond 9-to-5, JobStreet.com said.
 
Only a total of 954 employees across various industries in Malaysia participated in this survey conducted in September, the company noted.
 
Nearly 75% choose to stay late at the office to complete their heavy workloads. The majority of respondents also stated they are not getting paid for the extra hours they put in.
 
Approximately 60% also indicated their company is not carrying out any initiatives to promote work-life balance.
 
One respondent said, “Even if my company has work-life balance initiatives such as an on-site gym, a chill-out area and other organised social activities; it’s there in place just for show as we don’t even have sufficient manpower to sustain the workload.”
 
The survey also revealed some interesting facts:

• 54% indicated they do take their annual leaves entitlement, but almost all responded that they still get emergency texts from their bosses.

• Only 25% indicated they do not get any interruptions from work during their holiday.

• 78% leave their handphone contactable by their boss all the time.

Respondents were asked to give their ideas on what needs to be done in order to enjoy a more balanced work life.
 
The majority of workers feel companies need to provide flexible work time, where employees can choose from a range of start and end times to work each day instead of a fixed work slot.
 
Another suggestion is that companies should have a work policy encouraging employees to work less than 40 hours a week, rather than making it compulsory to work from 9-6 daily.
 
“Work-life balance is about effectively managing between work and other activities that are important to us,” said Chook Yuh Yng, JobStreet.com country manager.
 
“Companies should improve their work-life balance strategy for staff as it is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to keep them engaged, recharged, and motivated. Without it, the red zone of stress, burnout, and absenteeism can drain productivity and performance [out of the] company,” she added.
 
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