Malaysian Workforce Research Articles

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: CRACKING THE UNKNOWN PHENOMENON OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Despite numerous initiatives made by various organisations to increase employment opportunities for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they remain unemployed. The unemployment rate for individuals with ASD remains high. Therefore, this study seeks to understand the employment challenges for individuals with ASD and develop innovative solutions to address them. This study selected six founders of social enterprises in Klang Valley, Malaysia, that target individuals with ASD as participants. The study uses a face-to-face interview as a means of data collection. By implementing the thematic analysis, the study will uncover key themes and patterns that can inform future initiatives and policies to promote inclusion and diversity in the Malaysian workforce. These findings will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by marginalised groups and the strategies that can be implemented to address them effectively.

Investigating the Impact of Gender on Leadership Styles and Career Progression in the Malaysian Workforce

Gender diversity in leadership is a critical issue worldwide, and its impact on organizational performance and productivity has been extensively studied in various contexts. In Malaysia, where gender equality is still a work-in-progress, understanding the relationship between gender and leadership is particularly pertinent. This research seeks to provide an overview of the current state of research on the impact of gender on leadership styles and career progression in the Malaysian workforce, identify gaps in knowledge and suggest future directions for investigation. Specifically, this research explores the theoretical framework that underpins gender and leadership styles, outlines the methodology used for investigating gender and career progression in the Malaysian workforce and presents the findings and implications of this research. Finally, this research suggests strategies and interventions to improve gender diversity and enable women's leadership development in Malaysia.

Intercultural communicative competence among Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia: a qualitative exploration.

Millions of Indonesian migrant workers have sought employment in Malaysia during the last three decades. Many of them are skilled and unskilled laborers, and their incorporation into the host society's labor market has the potential to improve their own quality of life while also contributing significantly to the country's economy. However, Indonesian migrant workers encounter numerous problems in their professional and personal lives. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) factors as one of the Indonesian migrant workers' strategies. This is qualitative exploratory research on the factors of ICC in the integration of Indonesian migrant workers into the Malaysian labor market. Focus groups were used to obtain data from 16 Indonesian migrant workers who had already successfully integrated into the Malaysian workforce as well as newcomers who were in the process of integrating into the local culture. In addition, interviews have been conducted with the 13 employers to complement the data from the migrant workers. The data was analyzed using rounds of deductive and inductive coding and analysis based on the five components of Byram's model. The findings suggest that practicing intercultural communication skills can help migrant employees overcome cultural difficulties in the Malaysian labor market. The Indonesian migrant workers and their employers also indicated that they have an advantage in cultural integration due to the cultural similarities. The paper discusses the implications of the findings in terms of ICC training offered to migrant workers themselves (culture and language) and to professionals who work with them, with the goal of facilitating and promoting Indonesian migrant workers' labor market integration.

Generation Y Youth Involvement in 3D Industries: A Preliminary Evidence from Malaysia

As the largest contributor for Malaysia’s economic growth up to the year 2022, the 3D (dirty, dangerous and difficult) industries encompasses of services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, mining and quarrying were very significant and provides ample job opportunities to the Malaysian workforce. Nonetheless, 3D industries are less attractive and shunned by Malaysians, particularly amongst the Generation Y youth. Four determinants were identified in this study namely (i) Wages and Benefits (ii) Recognition (iii) Career Development and (iv) Job Security. This study intends to verify the reliability of the instruments concerning factors that attract the involvement of Malaysian Gen Y youth in 3D industries. A preliminary study was conducted to verify the reliability and to further improved the quality of the instruments. This study employs quantitative method and the proposed items were adopted from past studies. Fifty respondents from the Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM), Kuala Lumpur were involved in this pilot study. Data was analysed using SPSS. The major findings showed that the Cronbach’s alpha values for all variables namely Gen Y youth’s understanding, wages and benefits, recognition, career development and job security were reliable and above 0.7 threshold value ranges from 0.855 to 0.945. All the instruments proposed were valid and accurate to be used for large-scale study. This study reveals an urgency need for the Malaysian government and employers to pay serious attention in attracting youth involvement as an alternative to foreign workers. Therefore, to combat high influx of foreign workforce in Malaysia, the government and employers are urged to seek for better solution supported by empirical data. This research provides a significant value-added contribution to the existing body of knowledge concerning youth and 3D industries. Further research should develop a proper framework to attract youth involvement in 3D industries while tackling the influx of foreign workforce in Malaysia.

The Participation of Malaysian Chinese Women in the Workforce: Traditional Values and Choices

Abstract The rate at which women participate in Malaysia’s labor force is one of the lowest in the ASEAN region. Within the female workforce, Malaysian Chinese women participate more than women of other ethnic groups in Malaysia. Although this may indicate that the Malaysian Chinese are adapting to social changes that demand female participation in the workforce, a more in-depth study is needed to understand this phenomenon. In most circumstances, traditional Chinese values are omnipresent and affect women’s decision to join the workforce. The question is to what extent and in what circumstances are Malaysian Chinese women bound by traditional values. This paper attempts to provide some insights into this question by providing an overview of Malaysian Chinese women’s participation in the Malaysian workforce and the influences of Chinese traditional values on their decision to join the workforce. It is hoped that through this discussion, issues surrounding the participation of Malaysian Chinese women in the workforce can be highlighted, thereby opening up new avenues of research.

Psychological Wellbeing and Employability of Retrenched Workforce During COVID-19: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Mitigations for Post Pandemic Recovery Phase.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several employment-related issues, followed by different response strategies. With retrenchment measures being a common response strategy during economic downturns, many individuals have been faced with unemployment. This study aimed to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic related retrenchment on the psychological wellbeing of the Malaysian workforce, using a qualitative research approach and based on the Latent-deprivation Model. A purposive sample of 30 retrenched participants was interviewed via telephone during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO). Thematic analysis was subsequently conducted to identify key themes in the data set. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) Retrenchment leading to the deterioration of psychological wellbeing; (2) Unemployment, financial strain and economic uncertainty; (3) Emotions related to the COVID-19 virus; (4) Coping with lifestyle change; (5) Recommendations to improve the psychological wellbeing and mental health of the retrenched workforce, and (6) Career and financial support at the recovery phase. The present study provides valuable insight into the wellbeing of retrenched workforce who are forced to cope with both unemployment and a global pandemic, and workforce perspectives regarding types of support needed during the recovery phase.

Addressing Equity: Assessing Inclusion and Diversity in Government Services, Operationsand Management

Equity is the use of justice to recognize each other’s rights, using equality for the same. On the other hand, equity adjusts the rules to certain conditions to make it fairer and more equitable in an organization. It also serves as a platform of justice and because it does not prescribe written laws, it only creates more democracy and also has a role in law. Equity is a fair way of implementing the Law, as the norm is adapted to situations where it is subject to the criteria of equality and fairness. Malaysia's multicultural culture might well be a source of strength if the government upholds equal racial rights in all aspects of administration. The Malaysian workforce's diversity is highly valued for its multilingual abilities and skillsets as a result of establishing varied workplace harmony and ethical business culture. This situation may be viewed as a danger or an opportunity, and businesses that fail to perceive both risks and opportunities will likely fail in the future. Because of the psychological and social influences at work, corporate culture may be a difficult issue to address both in and out of the office. We can see how good business culture practices break down ethnic, religious, and cultural boundaries, resulting in harmony. The primary issues are not how to create a varied workforce in the workplace, but how to empower one and establish inclusion via diversity. Enlightening managers and leaders on how to inculcate and seek a diverse workforce to increase productivity by employing all employees to their maximum potential, resulting in increased profitability and effectiveness. Because of the importance of business, organisational management, and human capital management, the topic has become one of the most thought-provoking problems now debated. To be competitive, one must learn to deal with a wide range of situations. This paper discloses that workplace diversity and inclusion boost employees' ability in critical thinking, solving problem, and their professional skills. These positive outcomes will eventually enable organizations to attract talent, improve corporate attractiveness, and improve performance, productivity, and finances. As a result, this paper highlights the historical background of the different races in their job scope before and after Merdeka, the results of the survey and interview session in regards to the inclusion of multiracial in their workplace, factors that less inclusion of other races in the workplace and the Islamic perspective of the inclusion diversity in any kind of area

Addressing Equity: Assessing Inclusion and Diversity in Government Services, Operations, and Management

Equity is the use of justice to recognize each other’s rights, using equality for the same. On the other hand, equity adjusts the rules to certain conditions to make it fairer and more equitable in an organization. It also serves as a platform of justice and because it does not prescribe written laws, it only creates more democracy and also has a role in law. Equity is a fair way of implementing the Law, as the norm is adapted to situations where it is subject to the criteria of equality and fairness. Malaysia's multicultural culture might well be a source of strength if the government upholds equal racial rights in all aspects of administration. The Malaysian workforce's diversity is highly valued for its multilingual abilities and skillsets as a result of establishing varied workplace harmony and ethical business culture. This situation may be viewed as a danger or an opportunity, and businesses that fail to perceive both risks and opportunities will likely fail in the future. Because of the psychological and social influences at work, corporate culture may be a difficult issue to address both in and out of the office. We can see how good business culture practices break down ethnic, religious, and cultural boundaries, resulting in harmony. The primary issues are not how to create a varied workforce in the workplace, but how to empower one and establish inclusion via diversity. Enlightening managers and leaders on how to inculcate and seek a diverse workforce to increase productivity by employing all employees to their maximum potential, resulting in increased profitability and effectiveness. Because of the importance of business, organisational management, and human capital management, the topic has become one of the most thought-provoking problems now debated. To be competitive, one must learn to deal with a wide range of situations. This paper discloses that workplace diversity and inclusion boost employees' ability in critical thinking, solving problem, and their professional skills. These positive outcomes will eventually enable organizations to attract talent, improve corporate attractiveness, and improve performance, productivity, and finances. As a result, this paper highlights the historical background of the different races in their job scope before and after Merdeka, the results of the survey and interview session in regards to the inclusion of multiracial in their workplace, factors that less inclusion of other races in the workplace and the Islamic perspective of the inclusion diversity in any kind of area.

Mental Health Status Based on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21, Brief Resilience Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale among Corporate Staff in International Medical University

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the mental well-being of the Malaysian workforce. Aim: To determine the prevalence of mental health issues among the corporate staff of a private health-care university. Methodology: A total of 179 corporate staff from the International Medical University who were recruited into the study completed an online questionnaire of their demographics, including the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 items, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Results: About 10% were found to be depressed, anxious or stressed, 18% were unsatisfied with their life, and 18.4% had low mental resilience. Depression was significantly associated with race (P = 0.034) and marital status (P < 0.001). Similarly, stress was also associated with race (P = 0.039) and marital status (P = 0.049). SWLS was highly related to marital status (P < 0.001) and BRS was significantly comparable with age (P = 0.035) and education level (P = 0.043). Discussion: High prevalence of mental health issues during the pandemic can be explained by multiple reasons such as restriction in daily life events, reduction of household income, change in the working environment, social distancing, etc., Conclusion: Marital status and race are risk factors for mental health issues among corporate staff. Marriage tends to be more protective against many mental health issues.

Psychological health of healthcare workers and national vaccination programme: A conceptual study

Stress levels can be raised by psychosocial risks, which can lead to physical and mental health problems. Low motivation, exhaustion, anxiety, sadness, burnout, and suicidal ideation are all possible psychological responses. Malaysia has one of the highest COVID-19 immunisation rates in the world. Although this is a huge accomplishment, we must keep in mind that it adds to the taskforce's workload. Between January 2019 and May 2020, there were an average of two suicide deaths per day. The Royal Malaysia Police Force, on the other hand, reported that suicide rates had doubled in the first five months of 2021. A mass vaccination centre in Kuala Lumpur was closed on August 6, 2021, after over 200 medical staff and volunteers tested positive for the coronavirus. Fear is rising among healthcare workers as a result of a previous occurrence like this, and the current emergence of the Delta strain of the Virus, and now the Omicron, can only alarm the healthcare family. According to a study conducted by American International Assurance (AIA Vitality), majority of Malaysian workforce unable to get enough sleep. One out of every ten Malaysian representatives is nervous or discouraged, with the majority of them being in their twenties and thirties. As is the case during a pandemic, healthcare workers are overworked. They must deal with the effects of public misconception, face stress from relatives, fear of contracting the obscure illness and becoming a carrier of the illness, and now seek protection from the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and vaccinations to which they have adhered during vaccination programmes. Frontline workers' mental health issues, particularly burnout and fear, should be addressed by policymakers. Future national and organisational interventions must include providing adequate social support, building self-efficacy and resilience, and ensuring frontline work willingness.

A Conceptual Study: Technology Adoption among Malaysian Manufacturing SMEs for Corporate Sustainability in the Context of IR 4.0

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Malaysian economy and played an important role in the economic transformation after gaining independence. In Malaysia, SMEs provide 5.7 million jobs to 70% of the Malaysian workforce. Malaysia’s SME’s export is in an upward trajectory and the largest contributor was beverages and tobacco, chemicals, manufactured goods, and miscellaneous manufactured articles. In 2019, the principal export destinations were Singapore, China, and the United States. Through academic literature, the paper describes various challenges of technology adoption among manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia, and overcoming those issues will allow SMEs to grow and remain competitive in the global markets. The current scenario indicates that the growth of the economy is highly dependent on the growth and development of the SMEs but, the SMEs are lagging in terms of technology adoption to cultivate innovation, reducing operation costs, and increasing productivity. Hence, these challenges have deterred the Malaysian SMEs to compete with other larger economies. Additionally, Malaysian SMEs have to take opportunities of Industry 4.0 to enhance the efficiency and productivity of their manufacturing processes to expand their participation in the global markets as the domestic markets are limited.

The Role of Religiosity in Ethical Decision-Making: A Study on Islam and the Malaysian Workplace

This study investigates how Islamic religiosity affects ethical decision making. The study was conducted in the Malaysian workforce across the public and private sectors with a sample of N = 160. Five factors are tested to determine if they mediate the relationship between Islamic religiosity and ethical intention. These factors are: perceived importance of the ethical issue, moral judgment, ego strength, spiritual intention, and conscience. A parallel mediation design was chosen to test six hypotheses derived from the theoretical literature. The findings indicate that only the variable conscience mediates the relationship between religiosity and ethical intention. This study gives insights into the role of Islam in ethical decision-making, especially for Muslims in Malaysia, an area which has limited exploration. More generally, it contributes to the ongoing discussion in the literature on the relationship between religiosity and ethical decision-making.

Digital Skills Readiness amongst Malaysian Service Sector Workforce

This study aimed to measure the digital skills readiness amongst Malaysian workforce in the service sector by looking into two crucial antecedent factors, namely facility and training as well as applied digital skills (hard digital skills and soft digital skills). The research framework is derived from Vygotsky’s Mediated Action Theory (1978) and tested using 384 samples from the Klang Valley through the statistic reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia in Q4 2018. Random sampling methods were used, in which an online questionnaire was distributed through random acquittances and posted on social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook. The collected data were analysed using SPSS. The results indicated significant correlations between the ‘Facility and Training’ and the ‘Applied Digital skills – soft and hard digital skills’ with ‘Digital skills Readiness’. Discussions and recommendations are presented considering the crucial role that digital skills play in the general workforce of the future.

Demystifying the life domain in work-life balance: A Malaysian perspective.

Traditionally, the word ‘life’ in the concept of work-life balance focuses on family obligations. This conceptual paper sets out to present the notion that “life” goes beyond family responsibilities and is unique to employees of different demographics. Given the impending difference in how “life” is viewed by different groups of employees, this study reviews the literature and argues for the need to distinguish between different dimensions of the non-work domain. The discussion is centered on the transformation taking place within the Malaysian workforce. Recent trends indicate that “life” and “family” are indeed distinct domains. There is a need for organizations to acknowledge this distinction and provide relevant support to attain a balance between work, life, and family. The paper will help strengthen the knowledge about the “life” in the concept of work-life balance and employers better understand the conceptualization of “life” in work-life balance so that they can strategize and enhance employee well-being and eventually gain competitive advantage. Currently, the terms work-life balance and work-family balance are used interchangeably to represent a balance between the family and work domain. This is especially evident in collectivist countries such as Malaysia. However, the emphasis on family without due consideration to the needs of employees with different demographic configurations may result in work-life backlash. Hence, this study argues that the non-work domain is not limited to family obligations and should encompass both family obligations and personal activities. The emphasis on striking a balance between work and family domain should not be done at the expense of the well-being of employees with lesser or no family obligations.

A Preliminary Study of Islamic Financial Well-Being Index

This study aimed to explore the criteria of the financial well-being of the Malaysian workforce to develop a conceptual understanding of the impaired financial well-being of young adults. Concurrently, this study aimed to develop an Islamic Financial Well-Being Index (i-FWB Index) for sustainable financial well-being among Malaysian workers in consideration of recent transformative innovation in Islamic financial services. The orientation of qualitative research fitted the objective of this study, which was to conceptualise on the limited literature on Islamic economic well-being. The utilisation of individual and focus group interviews in gathering expert opinions provided valuable data based on grounded theory to develop a substantive and conceptual analysis. Atlas.ti was used as the software for qualitative analysis to achieve the research objective. Since none has touched on the area of developing financial well-being with the inclusion of religious beliefs, the findings of this study are expected to bridge the gap by providing specific scale in measuring Islamic financial well-being index, specifically for Malaysian workers. The originality of this study may contribute to the formation of a new body of knowledge, and enrich the literature sources in the field of scale development that will benefit the academicians.

Needs of lifelong learning for professionalisation of industrial workers: Opportunities and challenges

Only 23% of Malaysian workforce has tertiary education compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries such as Singapore and Finland that have tertiary education with an average of 28% and around 35%, respectively. This study investigates perceived needs lifelong learning programmes for professionalisation among the workers. A survey was conducted on workers from the industries. Most of the workers felt that lifelong learning programmes provide personal satisfaction. In terms of perceived needs, workers from higher positions in industries need lifelong learning programmes to get better positions and better salaries as compared to those with lower positions in industries to get better job and education. Both groups have different preferences for means of learning whether face-to-face or online learning. The implications are that the government has to change their policy in terms of requirement for these companies to register with the Human Resource Department Fund so that their workers be subsidised for attending lifelong learning programmes and to encourage the participation of public higher learning institutions for providing online and weekend lifelong learning programmes to the workers.

Trade Unions: Relevant Out of Irrelevant? A Study on Generation’s Perception in Malaysia

Generational differences on workforce in Malaysia have stirred the value of trade unionism. The transition from generation-X to generation-Y has created diverse perceptions on the relevance of being a member of a trade union. In the near future, generation-Y will be the bastion of the Malaysian workforce. They will be a fundamental actor in reshaping the industrial relations ecosystem in Malaysia. In this respect, this study focused on unionized and non-unionized generation-X and Y employee’s perception on the importance of trade unionism in the Malaysian context. Using a qualitative study, face-to-face semi-structured interviews with targeted respondents were conducted. The findings showed that the trade union do bring contributions to employees and protect employees from unfair actions but the density of trade unions declined due to unclear information known about trade unionism among generation Y. Based on the research findings, practical implications are discussed.

Estimating commute-travel implications of telecommuting by female employees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A number of Malaysian cities are experiencing severe traffic congestion resulting from rapidly increasing vehicle ownership and usage, and the insufficient supply and inferior quality of public transport. The trend of congestion, frequent traffic accidents and air pollution is nowhere more prevalent in Kuala Lumpur where telecommuting is increasingly being perceived as a viable travel demand management strategy. Due to a number of unique travel characteristics of female commuters and the relatively large participation rate of women in the Malaysian work force, telecommuting by female employees seems a more relevant and potentially more crucial means of alleviating rush hour traffic in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. The aim of this study is to estimate both the potential and actual travel implications of telecommuting by female employees. Therefore, this study is exploratory in nature as it mainly aims to explore the influence of the propagation of a phenomenon (i.e., telecommuting among female employees in Kuala Lumpur) on travel demand, and is thus mainly a quantitative research. The travel implications estimated in this paper include the reduction in commute trips, with a particular emphasis on the reduction in single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) entering the city of Kuala Lumpur during peak hours; vehicle and passenger-kilometers forgone; and time savings as a result of the elimination of the daily commute. The findings clearly show the potential of substantial reduction in vehicle and passenger-kilometers travelled, as well as potential time savings of more than 7000 employee-hours/day under an optimal adoption scenario. Furthermore, telecommuting by female employees could potentially result in a daily reduction of up to 7.8% of all SOVs entering Kuala Lumpur in 2019; however, there is a large gap between that potential reduction and the maximum actual reduction of 0.96%.

Nurturing Intrapreneurship to Enhance Job Performance: The Role of Pro-Intrapreneurship Organizational Architecture

Following the needs to ingrain intrapreneurial spirit among Malaysian workforce, as highlighted in the National Economic Advisory 2010, the aim of this study is to identify the organizational architecture that can be designed to foster such behaviour which could subsequently lead to better job performance. Specifically, this study examines the effects of five dimensions of pro-intrapreneurship organizational architecture; namely, “management support”, “work discretion”, “reward and reinforcement”, “organizational boundaries” and “time availability” on intrapreneurial behaviour which was then regressed to the job performance. A sample of 263 employees consisting of engineers and managers working in multinational companies participated in this study. The findings were tested using structural equation modeling procedure. In general, the results indicate that except for “organizational boundaries”, other organizational architecture namely “management support”, “work discretion”, “reward and reinforcement” and “time availability” were found to have positive significant effects on intrapreneurship. In addition, intrapreneurial behaviour is found to be positively related to job performance. In short, it can be surmised forming an internal ecosystem that is conducive for the workforce to behave intrapreneurially is a wise step to foster innovativeness culture that could subsequently be translated into a long term growth and sustainability of the organization.

Towards Developing a Theoretical Framework on Career Success of People with Disabilities

Malaysian workforce is increasingly encompassed by a group of minority who are incapacitated due to some illness or perhaps an accident. They are known as the people with disabilities (PWDs). More attention and initiatives are now built for the PWDs, thus leading to the assumption that they should be enjoying better level of career success. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework for measuring PWD’s career success based on the integration of sponsored mobility model of career success and person environment perspective. Suggested predictive potential of four key factors on PWD’s career success are person-job fit perception, needs-supplies fit perception, core self-evaluation and universal work environment. The developed theoretical framework would lead to an empirical study on objective and subjective career success of PWDs in Malaysia. The framework suggests specific individual attribute, personality and perception can lead to better objective and subjective career success. PWDs having positive core self-evaluation, higher levels of person-job fit and needs-supplies fit perception are believed to achieved better career outcomes, that is objective and subjective career success.