The new world of flexi-work

More harvests than thorns

PUTRAJAYA is getting serious about workplace flexibility. No surprise. Numerous studies show a clear correlation between flexi-work and heightened productivity. Recognising this, the government introduced workplace flexibility by way of Sections 60P and 60Q of the Employment Act 1955, both of which became effective on Jan 1 last year after a delay of several months. The good news is that the amendments apply no matter what the salary of the employee is. Unsurprisingly, Malaysian employers who are generally averse to disruptions — flexi-work is certainly one — have been waiting for incentives from Putrajaya. They are on the way, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim on Friday. Tax relief for employers is part of a few options being considered by the government.

Employers can ill-afford a wait of another year. Global economic growth is at a fragile-low, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the world economy to grow a mere 3.2 per cent this year. The Malaysian economy is at the tepid three per cent growth level, too. The message is: our economy needs a productivity boost. If employers need incentives from Putrajaya, employees need incentives from those who employ them. Now with Putrajaya’s incentives, whatever the employers are thinking that they are losing by adopting workplace flexibility must be considered to have been already paid for by the government. Workplace flexibility has many pluses, the most important of which is work-life balance. Humans are not mere creatures of offices or factories. They have homes to go to and families to be with. Jobs that allow them to schedule their work according to their needs will produce the best results, for the employees and employers. Put differently, a flexible work environment results in better business outcomes. Decades of Gallup research lend support to the claim. Here is the equation: flexi-work equals engaged workers equals higher performance equals higher revenues. A 2020 Gallup report revealed that companies that had adopted flexi-work reported 21 per cent higher profitability. Absenteeism was down 41 per cent and defects dropped 40 per cent. A caveat needs to be added to the data. The American workplace and workers come with their own peculiarities. Still, minus these, the upsides must be seen by Malaysian employers. Otherwise, employers may have to live with a reality that will be forced upon them: migration of skilled workers from factories and offices to the gig economy — a workspace where workers get to choose when and how they want to work. Last year, it topped three million Malaysians aged 30 and below, according to Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. Given our labour force of about 17 million, the huge rise must worry employers. Three million gig workers mean that many skilled workers forgone by factories and offices.

To be realistic, the road to workplace flexibility is not without challenges. One such is the availability of skilled workers who are ready and willing to help their employers grow their businesses. Not so easy to find, if the Malaysian Employers Federation’s statements over the years are true. Secondly, as yesterday’s Bernama report quoting a couple of academics suggested, managing flexi-work is equally challenging. It is about putting in place systems that make it work. The sooner this happens the better. Because flexi-work is not a question of when, but how.

Humans are not mere creatures of offices or factories.