Malaysians prefer to work for socially responsible companies

KUALA LUMPUR: At least eight in 10 employees and job seekers in Malaysia surveyed (84%) in the latest Randstad Workmonitor study only want to work for a company that has a strong corporate social responsibility programme.

When looking for a job, 83% said that it is important to them that the company they are applying to, participates in a charitable cause or philanthropic initiative.

About 82% of employees and job seekers in Malaysia consider it important to contribute to the society by doing unpaid voluntary work, but only 49% actively commit to volunteering activities outside of their working hours.

However, 82% of the respondents would be keen to volunteer if they were given paid time off by their employers. Employees in Malaysia do not have much choice about which charitable organisation they can volunteer at, with only 40% of the respondents saying that they were given paid time off to volunteer for a cause or charitable organisation of their own choice.

Employees based in Malaysia are firm believers of diversity at the workplace, with 93% saying that it is very important that all opportunities should be presented based on the individual’s ability to perform the role. This same group of respondents also agreed that job opportunities should be made attainable to the labour market regardless of the individual’s physical ability, age, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation and religion.

Hence, it was a surprise that only 69% of the respondents said that their current employers have a diversity and inclusion policy.

Overall, the Mobility Index is moderate in Malaysia in the third quarter of 2018. The Mobility Index tracks the employee confidence and captures the likelihood of an employee changing jobs within the next six months as well as provides a comprehensive understanding of sentiments and trends in the labour market.

Compared to the previous quarter, job satisfaction has decreased five points to 74% in the third quarter this year. The percentage of respondents who are actively looking for a job had also dipped from 16.79% to 15.8% in the quarter.

About close to half of the respondents in Malaysia (48%) have changed job in the past six months. The top three cited reasons for the job change are switch for better employment conditions (43%); personal ambition in management field (30%) and; dissatisfied with their previous employer (15%).

The Randstad Workmonitor is published four times a year, making both local and global trends in mobility visible over time.

The Workmonitor’s Mobility Index, which tracks employee confidence and captures the likelihood of an employee changing jobs within the next six months, provides a comprehensive understanding of sentiments and trends in the job market. Besides mobility, the survey addresses employee satisfaction and personal motivation as well as a rotating set of themed questions.

The study is conducted online among employees aged 18-65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not selfemployed). The minimum sample size is 400 interviews per country. The Survey Sampling International panel is used for sampling purposes. The third survey of 2018 was conducted from July 18 to Aug 2.