61.7% of Malaysian companies want to continue with hybrid work model

The survey by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), called the “Implementation of Work From Home and Work From Office Practices In Response to COVID-19 Pandemic”, was held from June 9 to August 6 last year, and indicated that about 61.7% of companies want  to continue with the hybrid work arrangement, taking the benefits employers and employees have experienced into account.

The WFH model benefited employers by saving up electricity and utility costs (78.5%) and accelerating their adoption of technology at work (68.5%), while for employees, 89.4% of them said they saved up on commuting expenses and 88.6% of them said they experienced less commuting stress.

For businesses which are unable to implement WFH, MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said employers should rearrange the workplace to allow sufficient physical distancing between workers and limiting employee capacity within the workplace.

Syed Hussain, however, said there were challenges that came with implementing WFH, such as losing out on the team building, interaction and discussion aspects of the job.

“Office interactions help to build a person intellectually. Therefore, organisations implementing WFH need to put in place measures to build teamwork and address mental health, especially for those who are on a regular WFH basis,” he said.

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The survey, which polled 203 respondent companies, showed that 93.6% of respondents implemented a combination of WFH together with work from office arrangements in response to the pandemic, according to The Star.