KUALA LUMPUR: Eight out of 10 Malaysian employees expect a pay rise or bonus payouts by year’s end, while six out of 10 believe the economy will improve next year, a survey by Randstad’s Q4 Workmonitor found.

Global recruitment and human service provider Randstad Malaysia director Jasmin Kaur said that with employees being positive about the economy in 2015, it was not surprising that they were expecting to reap the rewards.

“In addition, with different industries in Malaysia gearing up for the establishment of the Asean Economic Community in 2015 and becoming a high-income nation by 2020, employees in Malaysia are shouldering a heavier workload and expect to be compensated,” she said in a statement. But money aside, career development and opportunities to lead were also motivating factors, the survey found.

“While offering monetary rewards and incentives in terms of a pay rise or financial bonus may motivate many employees, business leaders are increasingly finding that their top-performing talent is often driven by the provision of leadership or career development opportunities,” Jasmin said.

The survey found that nine out of 10, or 88% of employees are prioritising talent development as a personal growth opportunity.

Additionally, 71% of employees are allowed to define their own career paths while seven in 10 recognise the increased time and resources dedicated to talent development programmes at their workplace today, compared to a decade ago.

The survey was conducted between Oct 23 and Nov 5 this year with 400 respondents aged 18 to 65 who were not self-employed and were working a minimum of 24 hours a week.

Jasmin said the results of the survey show that Malaysian employers are realising the importance of career and talent development as employees wanted to climb the corporate ladder faster and were looking to their employers to help them get there.

“Employers who provide these opportunities to their staff will be able to reap the benefits of having more loyal and engaged workers. This is especially important in Malaysia’s tight labour market and heated war for skills,” she added.

The Q4 Randstad Workmonitor survey also found that: i) 44% of employees feel pressured by talent development programmes which they say make them feel that they cannot keep up; ii) six in 10 or 60% of the employees believe that their jobs will be automated in the next decade; and iii) 60% of employees recognise that their employers are increasingly hiring freelance talent for specific assignments. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 12, 2014.