More Malaysian employees are expecting a bonus this year (77 per cent) compared to last year (66 per cent). In fact, 37 per cent will likely start looking for new job opportunities if they do not receive a bonus payout this year. The increasing expectation towards bonuses from employees indicate a positive sentiment around economic and organisational performances.

What’s intriguing is 62 per cent of respondents said that while getting a bonus is important, it is not the most important factor for their overall engagement within an organisation. This means that a bonus payout will not determine their decisions on changing jobs this year.

Bonuses and other incentives, such as salary increment and flexible benefits used to be key factors in helping organisations retain employees but this trend is slowly changing. According to the 2017 Randstad Employer Brand Research, there is an evident narrowing gap between salary expectations and work-life balance. Employees are prioritising other aspects of the job such as work-life balance, sense of purpose and proper career progression to fulfil their personal career aspirations. This is especially true for the millennials between the ages of 18 and 35.

Ryan Carroll, Country Director of Randstad Malaysia said, “Malaysians are starting to place a greater value on what were previously considered “softer” factors. Good work-life balance was the second most important employer brand factor in 2017, a two-rank increase from 2016. It is important for employers to understand what contributes to an engaged, productive workforce to attract talent and retain its employees.”

other interesting results from the survey:

Construction, Property & Engineering reported the highest number of employees who expect at least a one-month bonus, followed by employees from Manufacturing, Banking & Financial Services and Information Technology.
Out of the 26 per cent of respondents who said that they expect a bonus between three and five months, employees within the CPE sector stood at 47 per cent and BFSI at 26 per cent.

Ryan Carroll added, “The construction industry as a whole is performing well and undergoing substantial growth as a result of an increasing number of major infrastructure projects across key cities in Malaysia. Therefore, it comes with no surprise that the employees’ expectations for financial remunerations are higher as they understand the value and demand within the sector.”

According to the latest global Randstad Workmonitor report, the confidence level of Malaysian employees on securing a bonus and pay raise is much higher compared to global average (51.3 per cent). Highest across the region and aligned with the local survey, eight out of 10 Malaysians expect a bonus at the end of this fiscal year.

Randstad Malaysia surveyed with more than 700 professionals based locally across various disciplines in January 2018.

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