The great resignation might be sweeping across Malaysia, as it is in many other countries across the globe. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are leaving their jobs for one reason or another.
In 2020, Malaysia’s economy contracted by 5.6%, a situation that hasn’t occurred since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The unemployment rate last year was 4.5%, the highest in almost three decades.
This indicates that workers are either resigning or getting retrenched from their workplaces as businesses grapple with the economic downturn or that the work conditions or environment aren’t suitable for the present circumstances.
Reasons Why Employees are Leaving Their Jobs
According to the 2021 Employee Movement and Retention report released by Employment Hero, Malaysia’s COVID-19 economic recovery has triggered a nationwide employee movement.
Based on a study by the human resources and people management platform, 61% of Malaysian workers are looking to find new jobs this year as they are preparing to move on from their current workplaces.
The force behind the great resignation isn’t mainly salary. Factors such as flexibility, job security, career development, company culture, and more are contributing to it.
1. Flexibility
The desire to work from home or anywhere an employee chooses has become one of the most common reasons why people have been resigning en masse since the pandemic outbreak. During the lockdown period, many people worked from home.
This unveiled to them the perks that working from home offers, such as work-life balance and improved mental health. Many workers have also used this period to meditate on what they want in life.
Since then, workers are choosing companies that will give them the flexibility to attend to other areas of their lives while they are also carrying out their corporate responsibilities.
In this regard, companies that adopt an HR app or HR software, which facilitates online collaboration and comes with numerous features such as online resource booking and online clock in and out (a remote attendance system) can offer employees the flexibility they crave at work.
2. Better Career Opportunities
The fact that many companies are facing a cash crunch because of the pandemic leads to delays in the payment of wages and salaries.
Employees of a business organization that has a negative future outlook and is looking volatile will be proactive by looking elsewhere before they are laid off.
Moreover, not many businesses can offer their employees regular training to enhance their career development since the pandemic.
This leads the affected employees to see the job as not aligning with their career goals. Because of this, they jump onto the ship that will allow them to further their careers.
3. Toxic Culture
The toxic culture in business organizations is another huge contributor to mass employee resignations. Failure to promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality leads to the entrenchment of unethical behaviour and a sense of disrespect among employees.
Employees in such a toxic business environment will eventually resign and choose companies with healthy company culture.
4. No COVID-19 Prevention Protocols
Some organizations do not have measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Such a lackadaisical approach exposes employees to this highly infectious virus and makes them vulnerable to its effects.
In addition, it causes increased mental strain at work, which leads to a decline in productivity or an increased burnout rate.
This, in the long run, causes employees to look for employment that will offer them a safe environment to do what they love.
5. Increased Mental Stress
The past two years since the pandemic began has been incredibly stressful, mentally and physically. The coronavirus has continued to alter the daily lives of people around the world. This has resulted in dramatic changes in how people work.
Many employees are struggling to cope with the change in business practices to keep employees and customers safe while putting in performances that achieve set goals.
The failure of businesses to aid their employees in adapting to these stress-inducing situations will make the employees want to leave their job and improve their mental health.
6. Feeling Undervalued
Every employee wants to feel appreciated for their efforts. A sense of being underappreciated leads to negative feelings, lack of motivation, and poor performance.
No employee will want to continue working in such an environment. They will leave and go for an organization that recognizes their importance.
There is no denying that employee motivation plays an important role in helping the company to achieve its goals. In this regard, one of the best ways to make employees feel appreciated is to have a fair and effective reward system.
HR app or HR software such as EasyWork comes with a powerful point-based reward system that recognizes employees’ performance and drives productivity. Companies can set prizes for employees to redeem once they acquire certain points.
Moreover, not only companies can reward the employees using points, but employees can also reward employees using points.
In Closing
The study by the human resources and people management platform discovered that the majority of employees in Malaysia like (45%) or even love (24%) their role.
In fact, only a minority (4%) said they dislike or hate their jobs. In other words, the work itself is not the issue.
Therefore, to retain talents, companies should look into other factors such as work flexibility, company culture, and safety.
Adopting an HR app or HR software allows companies to become more competitive when it comes to talent acquisition and retention.
