KUCHING: Andrew Lo, the secretary of Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), says while it is expected that the majority of employees wanted flexible working hours, this needs to be properly managed by employers.
“Flexibility comes in many forms. For example, staggered hours, longer hours, less working days and working from home.
“But it has to be consistent and should not be changed in a hazardous manner or at the whims and fancies of employees,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
He added that employer job requirements took precedence. “Of course, employers need not cling on to antiquated and rigid work systems in an increasingly digital economy.”
Lo said while the Employment (Amendment) Act, which will take effect on Sept 1 in Peninsular Malaysia in which the weekly working hours are reduced from 48 hours to 45 hours, he felt that Sarawak was still left behind as usual.
In the meantime, a survey conducted by Qualtrics said that most of the Malaysian respondents believed that flexible hours such as working four days a week could increase their work-life balance, mental wellbeing, productivity, and make them more loyal.
Meanwhile, other countries such as Belgium introduced a four-day workweek back in February instead of the usual five, without loss of salary, while larger companies in Japan had ventured into this territory, following the Japanese government’s announcement in 2021 of a plan to achieve a better work-life balance.
