Over the last two years, COVID-19 and the disruption it caused at the workplace have pushed companies to adopt new methods of employee management. As a result, employee well-being is no longer just a privilege, but an opportunity for employers to better engage and support their workers.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Flexible working arrangements (FWAs) have existed for a long time and come in many forms, such as remote work, hybrid work, compressed work weeks, and flexi-time. With the pandemic spurring this trend further, more employees are now seeking such options and want these practices to be implemented. In fact, many governments are now supporting this move as well.
Starting from 1 Sept this year, Malaysian workers will be able to apply for FWAs with their employers, with the latter being legally required to consider the applications fairly.
So, what exactly are the potential up- and down-sides of FWAs for organisation?
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Malaysia is among the top overworked cities in the world. Workers here clock have a maximum working hours of 45-hours per week and only enjoy up to 16 days worth of annual leave, depending on the number of years they have been with the company. In contrast, Australia has an average of 33-hours and about a month of annual leave. Other Asian counterparts, such as Singapore, Japan, Korea, and China, have also been known to propagate a culture of overworking their personnel.
It is well documented that Asian countries have heavily adopted and accepted a culture of overworking. There are various reasons for this trend, most of which can be divided into legal, cultural, and historical sources. In this article, we explore why Asian cities have this culture of overworking, its dangers, and why it must be abolished.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Employee engagement is the connection an employee feels towards their work and organisation. This engagement exists on a spectrum and has strong correlations with various employee work-related facets such as their productivity, motivation, involvement, loyalty, and happiness.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
It’s January, the start of the new year. There’re lots that the new year brings; new business opportunities, new resolutions, and new beginnings. It’s also a reminder for private sector employers in Malaysia to prepare the EA Forms for their employees.
The EA form provides the employee with the details of their taxable income for the year, benefits in kind, any commission or bonus, allowances, their deductibles, and contributions to the local provident/pension funds. This is so that they can file for their personal income tax on time. This is not to be confused with the EC form, which is catered for public sector companies.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Payroll processing is an important aspect of business management. Processes which are too arduous, complex and prone to error place an unnecessary burden on HR personnel. It means they run the risk of failing compliance checks and harming the relationship between employer and employee.
An in-house payroll system which is carried out manually is not only time consuming, but also increases the risk of human error due to the large amount of paperwork. It poses an administrative burden on HR employees, who could better utilise their time with such initiatives as staff re-training and development.
On top of all this, HR personnel are also required to keep abreast of the latest government legislation pertaining to HR management. They must ensure their business doesn’t run into any issues during compliance audits and are treating their employees fairly.
So how can HR personnel enhance their current workflow more productively?
- Topic:
- Human Resources
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are independently-owned organisations that are usually labour intensive and operate on very tight budgets. Such constraints require them to ensure constant evolution and progress to keep up with ever-changing industry demands, as well as stay relevant and competitive.
Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic has thrown a spanner in the operations of many Malaysian SMEs, with two out of three expressing little hope for profit recovery in 2021 due to prolonged movement control curbs.
- Topic:
- Human Resources
