KUALA LUMPUR: Disciplinary issues, employees' commitment to work and lack of monitoring mechanisms are among the reasons employers refuse to adopt Flexible Working Arrangements (FWA).
The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president, Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman, said a survey conducted in 2022 identified eight reasons companies refuse to implement FWA, with the main reasons being the work nature's suitability (88.2%).
The MEF Fringe Benefits survey also revealed that over 50 per cent of the respondents cited issues with employees' commitment to work and monitoring employees as reasons for not implementing FWA.
Other reasons include the inability to provide equipment for FWA (47.2%), eliminating unfairness among employees when only certain employees can opt for FWA (47.2%), no clear delineation between work and home (26.4%), and leadership commitment (26.4%).
Syed Hussein said the survey also found that over 64 per cent of companies that offered Work-From-Home (WFH) are facing difficulties in monitoring employees' working hours and performance.
They also faced difficulties identifying the types of work or tasks suitable for FWA (53.4%), finding a workplace suitable for FWA implementation (51.5%), detachment issues (49.7%), and communication problems (41.7%).
"The survey also indicated that disciplinary issues are one of the reasons cited by 37.4% of respondent companies as challenges faced in implementing FWA.
"Eliminating the issue of unfairness among employees was cited by 47.2 per cent of respondent companies as the reason for not implementing FWA," he said, adding that fostering trust between employers and employees is important for the smooth implementation of the policy.
Syed Hussein said the survey, which aimed to determine whether these companies would continue implementing WFH arrangements after the Covid-19 pandemic, found that over 30 per cent of the respondents have implemented WFH but only 6.1 per cent opted to maintain the policy permanently.
Over 31 per cent of the respondents mandated that their employees return to the office permanently, while 29.5 per cent allowed for hybrid working arrangements.
About 47 per cent of the respondents allowed for WFH arrangements on a case-by-case basis, while 42 per cent allowed only for employees who tested positive for Covid-19.
Currently, employers can apply for FWA based on time, days and location of work under the Employment Act.
Such requests should be submitted to employers for feedback within 60 days, and if rejected, employers must provide reasons.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor however, believed that any issues arising from the implementation of FWA could be addressed within the existing regulatory framework.
He also believed that it is unfair for employers to dismiss FWA solely based on their assumptions of the possible problems arising from their implementation.
"If employers want to implement FWA, it needs to be done in a way that benefits both parties, including the employees, so issues such as workers' discipline should be addressed when they arise.
"We have methods and laws on how action can be taken (against problematic workers), and we can't assume that just because one person is causing issues, everyone will create the same problems," he said.
A growing number of companies, including tech giants like Space X and Amazon, have instructed workers to return to the office.