PETALING JAYA: Flexible or hybrid work arrangements will not become the "new normal" for employees even though most companies in the country have attempted the concept to varying degrees, says the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
Its president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said 70.5% of companies surveyed have implemented some form of hybrid work model, particularly during the post-Covid-19 period.
"Of this, 58% showed a clear shift in workplace policy.
"These arrangements include flexibility in working hours, place of work and days of work.
"However, the normal way of working will remain (although) the flexible model is here to stay," he said when launching MEF's annual survey report on Wednesday (Nov 27).
The survey of 191 firms in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors found that companies provided employees with flexibility in working hours (40.3%), flexibility in terms of workplace (39.4%) while some provided flexibility in work days (10%).
MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said there were several reasons why some companies rejected the flexible model.
Based on the survey. 86% cited tasks requiring physical presence whereas 56% were worried about disruption to daily operations, 42% doubted employee performance in a remote setting, and 35% were concerned about impact on quality of service.
Shamsuddin said that while the Employment Act 1955 was amended to introduce flexible work arrangements on Jan 1 last year, there was a lack of clear guidelines in several areas such as the maximum working hours affecting non-shift workers.
He said legally, an employee cannot work more than eight hours a day without overtime pay; or not more than 45 hours a week.
MEF said flexible work should not be made mandatory but left to the discretion of employers based on sector and industry needs and practices.
On a separate salary survey, Shamsuddin said the average pay increase for executives was 4.9% this year compared to 5.88% last year.
For non-executives, the increase was 4.85% this year compared to 5.56% in 2023.
He said the lower pay rise was because of companies adjusting to global geopolitical factors.
He said MEF projected that employees are likely to see a salary increase of 5.5% for executives and 5.41% for non-executives next year with expectations of better economic growth.
