Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): Forty two percent of Malaysian employees are willing to take a pay cut up to 10% in order to work from home, while 23% do not mind a 20% slash in salary for the same privilege.

In a statement on a poll by job agency Hays Specialist Recruitment (Malaysia) Ltd 2016, it said about 35% employees said they were `happy’ to commute, if it meant more money.

“The cost and time taken to commute to work are the main reasons why Malaysians would consider taking a pay cut to work from the convenience of their own homes,” said Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne.

Osborne said work location also played a key role for Malaysians, compared with other Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and China.

The evidence was further supported by World Bank’s 2015 Malaysia’s Economic Monitor, stating that commuters wasted more than 250 million hours stuck in traffic jams in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area in 2014.

“The cost of lost hours and fuel added up to at least RM3,100 per head, or more than 1.1% of annual national gross domestic product (GDP), a substantial cost only heightened by increasingly challenging traffic conditions,” Hays Malaysia said.

According to its special report titled 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide released earlier this year, Hays Malaysia said 18% of Malaysians considered work location as a key motivator when exploring new opportunities.

This is in contrast with respondents in Singapore and China (11%), and Japan (18%).

Meanwhile, Osborne revealed from the poll that some people found working from home as not `always’ the solution, due to the need for face-to-face interaction or sensitivity of information.

“Presence in the office is also important in establishing professional relationships within an organisation and fostering team culture,” he said.

He pointed out that an alternative solution to working from home was flexi-working hours that allowed staff to plan their schedules effectively.

It can also help employees avoid peak hour traffic resulting in increased productivity, as well as less cost of lost hours for employers.

“It can also be a popular retention strategy, as employees are able to better achieve work-life balance through this arrangement,” he said.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share