In 2012, we conducted a nationwide survey to understand the career and workplace preferences of today’s female workforce. Survey participants were asked for their opinions on the attributes of a perfect workplace, the push and pull factors at today's places of employment and the employee’s choice in terms of work styles, performance measures, team relations and management and leadership approaches. The exercise was concluded with various findings that will influence management decisions in attracting, retaining and managing their talent effectively. The results of the survey are summarised in this report.
REWARDING CAREERS for many women
A total of 66% of employees have careers that are enjoyable with plenty of growth potential, with almost half of them citing their working life as greatly rewarding and full of opportunities. Another 23% feel that their current careers are generally okay, while 5% feel that their jobs are rather mundane and monotonous but pay their bills and the remaining 5% feel that work is just sheer torture and that they would not work a day if they had the money.
Our Insights: Women today are enjoying greater careers, thanks to higher education levels and workplace revolution that enable women to perform as well as their male counterparts. Growth of the service sector in Malaysia has enabled the proliferation of corporate jobs as well as other professions that women fit in naturally due to their ability to perform complex and meticulous tasks over long time periods. High IT literacy and internet penetration in the society has also provided women with wider exposure, knowhow and skills that help them to excel in various management and leadership roles across many industries.
The Malaysian dream – QUALITY LIFE and PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
‘Women are also responding to their internal drive for personal achievement, much of which is inculcated during the long schooling years where exam and co-curricular achievements receive high societal respect and recognition and become a measure of self-worth.’
A high 50% of the employees put strong emphasis on a comfortable life with affordability of quality things as the main reason for them to pursue their career success. An interesting 28% feel that their career success would mean that they can achieve their personal dreams of inventing/discovering/building/making something significant. Another 21% feel that career success will go a long way in boosting their self-esteem and their feel good while 4% feel that it will earn them their social status and recognition among peers.
Our Insights: Double income families have become a society norm because women are able to earn as much as men across many jobs. With changing lifestyles that require higher monthly household expenditures, working women who supplement the family’s income find that they can enjoy higher material well-being and offer the same to their immediate family members. Women are also responding to their internal drive for personal achievement, much of which is inculcated during the long schooling years where exam and co-curricular achievements receive high societal respect and recognition and become a measure of self-worth.
INTEREST AREAS and GREAT BOSSES are key to great careers
30% of employees say that being able to be on tasks/assignment on areas that they are personally interested in, especially those that offer them the travelling/social networking/development opportunities is what makes their careers exciting. Another 25% of the employees feel that having bosses or supervisors who are motivating and pleasant to work with as a factor that makes their careers exciting. Another 17% feel that their careers would be more exciting if their team mates/colleagues are more encouraging and engaging. The other 14% of the employees cited flexibility in terms of hours/choice of workplace (including work from home) as an option that can make their jobs more exciting. 10% cited better facilities such as working lounges within office, high quality food outlets, club memberships, gym and hot desking arrangement and remaining 4% feel that higher degree of meritocracy will enhance their career experiences.
Our Insights: Increasing numbers of careers offer assignments and tasks that allow women to pursue their areas of interest and provide them the opportunity to realise their own potential. This has been made possible by the increasing complexities in the economy, resulting in highly specialized jobs across industries. On the other hand, having great bosses who are understanding, who provide their employees room to perform and who always appreciate a well-delivered work is another key factor in determining one’s experience at work. A string of good bosses is one sure way to keep one’s career life smooth-sailing and fulfilling all the way. Pleasant workmates are also an important part of the working environment, especially for women, as an inclusive and light-hearted environment provides plenty of peer-group support and help on various aspects of their lives.
It is all about how GOOD you are at what you DO
When asked what is key to career success, 43% feel that it’s the ability to learn the job thoroughly and to acquire the knowhow, which makes an employee indispensable in the long run, resulting in increasing pay and higher positions over time. Another 31% say that it is the ability to produce actual results in work that gets an employee to where he wants to be. However, 11% say that it is the ability to market oneself to other employers and move up fast in position and pay by moving jobs as the way to be successful while 7% agree that it is good academic qualifications that put you on the pathway to success. Less than 3% cited the ability to be on top of office politics as the key to career success.
Our Insights: Its surprising that despite what is commonly said about success in careers, it is the value that an employee delivers in his work that carves his pathway to success. Politics has always been cited as a shortcut for career progression; however, it remains effective only in the short run. People who experience long term career success (in terms of position and pay and job satisfaction) are those who spend more time learning the trade and the skill required on the job. This is particularly important in the current work environment where technology and global changes renders old skills obsolete in no time, requiring employers to continuously seek out people who are brilliant in their work. As those who learn well deliver well, one can conclude that success over the long term starts with a sound learning culture and the ability to continuously deliver quality work.
Need for MORE TIME for oneself, one’s parents and one’s kids.
‘Just as technology has cut down time on housework, technology is also cutting down time one is required to be in office, creating the perfect opportunity for many capable women to deliver their best, both as homemakers and also as important contributors to the economy.’
Asked to choose 4 areas which employees need to spend more time on, 71% of employees cited that, apart from other concerns, they actually need more time for themselves. Other concerns include their parents, for whom 57% of employee need more time for and kids, for whom 53% of employees need more time for. About 42% do not have enough time for their own health. In terms of time for their spouses, 42% cited they do not have enough time and another 33% need more time for their hobbies and interests. About 27% have inadequate time for religion/spiritual practices. Only 24% cited friends and social circles as a concern that they need more time for, while 19% and 12% needed more time for business interests and homemaking respectively.
Our Insights: On average, everyone needs more time for everything. Working life comes with its price, especially for women whose traditional role is to raise children, manage the household, nurse the elderly and support their husbands at work. Consequently, the battle for time becomes a permanent feature in a working woman’s life, calling for a host of solutions from child-care facilities to catering services. However, modernized life-styles do not require women to be committed to around-the-clock domestic drudgery that earlier generations were subjected too. Most chores can be conducted in shorter time, allowing women to engage themselves in the economy. What is needed now are jobs that allow more flexibility in terms of how work is delivered such that women can work away from office and need not spend long hours commuting and attending to mundane office procedures. Just as technology has cut down time on housework, technology is also cutting down time one is required to be in office, creating the perfect opportunity for many capable women to deliver their best, both as homemakers and also as important contributors to the economy.
LEAVE the office when WORK IS DONE
Interestingly, in a 9 to 5 work culture, 66% say that their idea of working is coming to office on time and leaving when work is done, compared to 27% who are proponents of leaving when it is time to do so. Only 4% favoured staying in office as long as it takes to please their supervisors while 1% feel that they should leave when their colleagues do.
‘Its not five o’clock yet’
Our Insights: The nine-to-five culture is becoming less relevant as the working environment goes through revolutionary changes, thanks to the growth in the services sector and a few decades of continuous innovations in information and communication technology (ICT). The increase in mental-intensive desk jobs mean that much work is performed in vacuum that is independent of the working environment. Memo, reports, presentation slides, data processing, email management etc are examples of work that is produced in this way. Complemented by remote information access, research, referencing and information gathering can be done from anywhere. Many types of deliverables in the corporate world are being delivered in this manner, yet all workers are made to assemble in cramped cubicles, clustered together over many floors in a single building right in the middle of congested city centers. Furthermore, with all the innovations around us, it has become possible for huge amount of voice, images and data to be transferred, processed and retransferred from one location to the other over seamless communication channels rendering the usual nine-to-five culture almost absurd in some areas of work. It is therefore more sensible to allow workers to go home when the bulk of work is done, and technology be called upon if they are needed afterwards to make a few amendments on the document or to make a call to the client or to provide a quick explanation on clause 5b(3). How effective can it be to hold a person in the cubicle for hours on end just because ‘it is not five o’clock yet’ or worse still, ‘the boss is still in a meeting, so wait a while longer…’.
Preference for WORK-BASED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
Our Insights: Women employees’ preference for highly objective and work-based assessment corresponds to the fact that most female employees with considerable years of service just want to get their work done and go home and concentrate on their personal commitment such as home, family and health.
‘Just as technology has cut down time on housework, technology is also cutting down time one is required to be in office, creating the perfect opportunity for many capable women to deliver their best, both as homemakers and also as important contributors to the economy.’
It is not about pleasing their bosses, but it is about completing what is assigned to them. This is what 48% of employees prefer when it comes to performance evaluation as opposed to a meager 3% who prefer to be evaluated by their ability to please their bosses during and outside of work. Another 22% want to be evaluated by their ideas that they bring to their departments/work areas while 19% want to be evaluated by their ability to follow the processes, rules and procedures correctly. Physical presence is given much less emphasis than is usually purported, with only 7% wanting to be evaluated by their ability to be present at work and be seen working.
Our Insights: The last 20 years has seen tremendous growth in the corporate sector in Malaysia, and along with it, the acceleration in women’s participation in white-collar jobs across various industries. Such growth required progression of many young entrants into mid-level and senior –level management jobs at a much quicker pace than it is in mature, stable-growth environments. Deciding who to promote necessitated the use of more objective and fair methods of performance evaluation as promotion by age and seniority does not provide the organisation the right talent to propel and adequately support its growth. As these reward schemes become more attractive, the end-of-year performance evaluation exercise with its key result areas, weightings and scores becomes serious business. Women employees’ preference for highly objective and work-based assessment corresponds to the fact that most female employees with considerable years of service just want to get their work done and go home and concentrate on their personal commitment such as home, family and health. As such, objective, work-based assessment will continue to enable them to thrive and progress well in highly competitive environments.
94% of employees want FLEXIBLE WORKING arrangements
‘What is more, this is not only a talent management decision; it is also a business competitiveness decision. Many organisations that have implemented flexible working are reporting strong returns on investment (ROI) numbers across their flexible working programs.'
A staggering 94% employees want to participate in one or more types of flexible working arrangements at their workplaces, with highest votes (71% employees want to participate and another 15% wishing to give it a try) going for flexibility to work 1 to 2 days from a different location like home office or satellite office. Ranking second is the arrangement that allows employees to have sliding hours, that is coming in early, leaving early or coming in late, leaving late with 71% employees voting for it and another 12% wanting to give it a try. Schemes that allow employees to work more hours on some days and less hours on some days while maintaining total weekly hours ranked third with 67% keen to participate and 17% wanting to try, while part-time working that involves coming to office for half a day ranked fourth with 55% wanting to participate and 20% wishing to give it a try. Ranked last is the option to come to office only when there is a need to, which 50% of the employees are keen to participate and another 15% wishing to give it a try.
Our Insights: The type of work, the nature of the deliverables and the readiness of the employees are three main criteria that employers have to consider in providing flexible working arrangements to their employees. This answers the typical question that arises every time flexible working is contemplated by both the employer and the employee – can we work more flexibly? The onus is upon the employer, to assess their own work environment and talent needs in deciding the mix of flexible working arrangement that best suits their workforce. Each environment is unique and yes, each task is different but technology and lifestyles have changed tremendously across the society and today, most people are keen to take on jobs that provide them with more time for other things in life. In the next 2 to 5 years, most organisations will see the compelling need to offer some form of flexibility in terms of work hours to their workers, especially their female workers in order to retain and attract better talents into their organisations. What is more, this is not only a talent management decision; it is also a business competitiveness decision. Many organisations that have implemented flexible working are reporting strong returns on investment (ROI) numbers across their flexible working programs.
SUN AND FUN is still the preferred team-building option
‘Even if specific team building events are organised, small group events which involve people who are in common project/deliverable/unit are more effective in meeting the objective of the team-building compared to organisation-wide events that become a once-a-year ‘hi’-saying avenue, with people whom one hardly interfaces during actual work.’
With 34% voting for a once-a-year fun-packed activity at a premier resort/attractive location, it is obvious that employees still love the sun-and-fun way of strengthening team relations. However, a good 19% of the employees prefer to enhance their team relations by turning regular team meetings and discussions into more open, engaging, exciting and inclusive sessions where members appreciate, support and understand each other very well. Another 17% feel that the best way to build team relations is to encourage team members to organise their joint personal activities outside work to share hobbies/interests/family events. Further 10% of employees think that creating social clubs and getting employees to be part of them where they meet up periodically for their activities will achieve the goal better. Remaining employees voted for sports events where employees can support their teams and in doing so, forge closer bonds between them while additional 4% believe that having employees to stay back after work to participate in games/activities such as scrabble, tennis, badminton or simply ‘makan-makan’(e.g. meal outings) will forge closer ties among team members. Interestingly, 6% of employees say that they will cancel the whole idea of ‘team-building activity’ and will require employees to just co-operate and support each other during work.
Our Insights: Creativity plays an important role in building good working relationships which can enhance productivity and improve employee morale. While some organisations can afford a few days out in premier resorts locally or abroad as avenues to bring their teams closer, others can opt for better means of rekindling team spirit without the hassle of managing large events and incurring costly expenditures. In fact, day to day ‘team-building’ is much more important in boosting productivity and efficiency. One such method is to create ownership among workers on the deliverables they are assigned to. Emphasis on participation and active contribution during brainstorming, solutioning and problem solving sessions can create the understanding, cooperation and mutual respect that forge closer ties among the team members. Equally critical is the clear accountability structures and transparent measures of outputs that leave little or no scope for slacking and passing the responsibility to another.
Even if specific team building events are organised, small group events which involve people who are in common project/deliverable/unit are more effective in meeting the objective of the team-building activity compared to organisation-wide events that become a once-a-year ‘hi’-saying avenue, with people whom one hardly interfaces during actual work.
Flexible Working vs 5% Pay Rise: What employees are willing to forego for more flexibility
With 64% employees choosing flexible working against a 5% pay rise, it is clear that flexible working arrangement is able to influence job preferences among employees. Foregoing 5% of the pay rise indicates that the employees feel that the benefit of flexible working outweighs monetary compensation, and is an effective method to attract and retain a large pool of employees.
Our Insights: This preference is partly attributable to the worsening traffic congestion, family relationship and health considerations, especially across nuclear families in urban environments. The cost benefit analysis clear points out that in the long run, higher pay that comes at the cost of family problems and health woes is not worth chasing for. Exorbitant living costs in the cities is also another consideration – a job that pays less in smaller towns may provide a better quality of life given its much lower housing and family raising costs. Employers may now consider throwing in flexible working options as part of their perks and benefit package to offset smaller increases in pay-checks especially during times of financial difficulty. Most employees will be compelled to take home slightly less pay and enjoy the luxury of time and better state of well-being. In some organisations, flexible working has been offered to high-performing and more senior employees as a recognition for their contribution to the organisation, and this has proven out to be an effective strategy to reduce fixed operational costs and retain their talents over the long run.
FLEXIBLE WORKING is still AN EXCEPTION THAN A NORM
‘In fact, the drive towards flexible working is so high, that even without formal arrangements, bosses at various levels are granting certain level of flexibility to their key employees to continuously motivate them and enhance the performance of teams under them.’
While flexibility is an option that appeals to most employees, only 27% of employers have implemented formal flexible work arrangements at their workplaces. Another 18% of employees say that although their workplaces do not have such arrangements, their bosses do allow them to work flexibly as long as they deliver their work and be present when required. Overall, there is a 88% participation rate in the formal flexible working arrangements offered by employers.
Our Insights: The question is how and how much? How do organisations offer flexibility when some tasks can only be worked on if the employee is present at work? Even if flexibility is granted, how much is really needed? These were the two main considerations among organisations contemplating flexible working. However, as more and more organisations embrace flexible working practices, highly effective solutions become more available in the market, addressing much of the program policy and design issues. Complemented by the innovations in information and communication technologies, any concern over the implementation of flexible working is being quickly replaced by positive feedback on the improvement in talent retention and reduced operational costs. In fact, the drive towards flexible working is so high, that even without formal arrangements, bosses at various levels are granting certain level of flexibility to their key employees to continuously motivate them and enhance the performance of teams under them. As in any program or initiative, the right tools, technologies and expertise go a long way in ensuring the successful implementation of flexible working in any environment.
In summary, women in careers feel that their careers are rewarding and greatly contribute to their well being and the well being of their families. However, time constraint is becoming major a issue across many careers as most women are required to put in many hours at fixed workplaces with little or no flexibility in terms of how they deliver their work. With many preferring to work on flexible arrangements, management and employers will be able to attract and retain better talent by providing flexible working options that suit the required tasks and outputs at workplace. Women will continue to play greater roles in the career world and empowering them to perform better both at work and in their personal lives will ensure that the best of talents remain in contributing to the growth of the country.