6 in 10 employees prefer flexibility over 4-day work week, survey finds

 

Malaysian respondents in a recent survey cite longer working hours, frustrated customers and company performance as their main concerns. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Sixty per cent of full-time employees in Southeast Asia prefer flexibility over a four-day work week, a survey by experience management company Qualtrics showed.

In Malaysia, the preference for flexibility was slightly greater with 62% opting for it over a shorter work week.

“Flexibility is also a bigger driver of retention (66%) than a four-day work week (50%) in Southeast Asia,” Qualtrics said in a statement.

Flexibility was defined by a third (33%) of employees in Southeast Asia as having control of the work hours, while others defined it as having the ability to work from any location (24%), choosing the days they work (19%) or being measured by performance instead of hours (18%).

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Questions relating to the four-day work week were only answered by full-time employees, totalling 2,846 respondents, including 557 from Malaysia.

The survey also determined that while Malaysian workers believed a four-day work week could improve work-life balance, mental wellbeing, productivity and increase loyalty to their employer, they were less than willing to take a pay cut.

“Many respondents in Malaysia also cited longer hours (68%), frustrated customers (62%), and company performance (65%) as their top concerns,” it said.

Last month, it was reported that companies and governments across Asia were cautiously testing the idea of a four-day work week as notoriously long working hours took a toll on workers, with little to show in terms of productivity.

Qualtrics also revealed that two key drivers of success for the new ways of working being implemented were prioritising health and wellbeing, and ensuring employees were enabled to succeed in both physical and remote environments.

“Unlike other countries in the region, 30% of Malaysian respondents felt that working remotely had a positive impact on their mental health compared to 22% negative,” it said.

The survey was conducted in May and included 3,415 respondents employed full or part-time across a range of industries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. - FMT