PETALING JAYA: In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it would not be an understatement to say most people have been affected employment-wise. In one of its latest surveys, JobStreet said nine out of 10 have felt the effects of the crisis in their workplace.
In a statement, JobStreet said 48% of respondents have experienced a negative impact on remuneration and salary, while 24% have been required to take leave.
Furthermore, 66% of employees experienced an increased scope of work, particularly among higher-paid employees in larger organisations (68%).
This was greatest in the education (54%) and manufacturing (45%) sectors, which experienced a need for remote learning and greater demand for goods, respectively.
By contrast, a decrease in scope of work was felt by employees working in hospitality/catering (45%) and architecture/construction (36%).
“While longer-term, full-time employees are less vulnerable in terms of retrenchment, most experienced a removal or reduction of bonuses and a salary dip. In fact, one in three employees reported a salary reduction of more than 30%,” it said.
In light of that, most employees are now concerned with matters related to finances and job security.
“These concerns have led to a decline in job happiness, particularly those in service-oriented sectors and those with young children. Employees working for small to medium organisations also rated their job happiness as lower,” it added.
JobStreet noted that while the government has introduced a few initiatives under Penjana economic stimulus, more companies are turning towards JobStreet to alleviate the Covid-19 effect.
Country manager Gan Bock Herm said under its Under #TogetherAhead campaign, JobStreet recently launched #WorkNow to help candidates and employers through various pandemic-induced challenges.
“This feature connects immediately available candidates to potential employers. JobStreet has a critical role during this time to help Malaysians secure available jobs in the shortest time possible, and to support them through this Covid-19 crisis,” he said.
