2018 RESULTS

2018 WINNERS

MALAYSIA’S HEALTHIEST EMPLOYEES

MALAYSIA’S HEALTHIEST EMPLOYER

MALAYSIA’S HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE

MALAYSIA’S MOST IMPROVED WORKPLACE

Registration for Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2019 starts January 1st, 2019. Organisations that would like to participate in the survey can register at healthiestworkplace.aia.com. Registration is free.

FINDINGS

The Healthiest Workplace Survey 2018 by AIA Vitality provides employers in Malaysia with an essential overview of their employees’ wellbeing and a greater understanding of the efficacy of their companies’ health interventions in the workplace.

The survey creates an awareness of the importance of workplace health and wellbeing among both employers and employees.

STRESS

Rates of depression have fallen among Malaysians while stress levels remain steady.

HEALTH CONDITIONS

Over 90% of Malaysians eat a poor diet, but more Malaysians are exercising regularly.

SLEEP

Fewer Malaysians are getting a good seven hours’ sleep compared to last year.

PRODUCTIVITY

Of the countries surveyed, Malaysians lost to short term work impairment with an average of 73.1 days per employee per year.

MALAYSIA’S HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE BY AIA VITALITY 2018 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT WITH THE EDGE

This is a special supplement that AIA Malaysia worked on with The Edge, Malaysia’s leading business weekly to promote workplace health and wellbeing. The supplement contains the findings of the Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2018 survey with special focus on mental health and wellbeing at the workplace. Happy reading!

SUMMARY

MALAYSIA’S SURVEY FINDINGS

THE RISE OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG WORKFORCE REDUCE PRODUCTIVITY

  • According to the findings of the Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2018 survey, employers lost an average of 73.1 days of working hours per employee due to ill-health related absence and presenteeism.
  • Absence refers to employees’ absence from work due to health problems while presenteeism means employees are present at work but are constrained by health problems to carry out their daily activities. Additionally, the loss of working days increased from an average of 67.2 days from last year (2017) which translates into an estimated cost of RM2.27 million lost per organisation per year.
  • Malaysian employees have also become increasingly affected by mental issues over the years which can lead to staff absences and turnover which in turn negatively impact the productivity and performance of the company. If not addressed, both employers and employees are at the losing end with the performances of employees and employers affected. The findings demonstrate that 50.2% of employees have at least one dimension of work-related stress.

POOR HABITS ARE ON THE RISE

  • Malaysian employees are seen to have poor habits as the number of smokers have increased in comparison to other markets (namely Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand) – 11.1% of employees are currently smokers, compared to the average of 7.5% in other markets.
  • They are recorded as being most at risk for nutrition with 91.7% not eating a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
  • Additionally, 16.6% of Malaysian employees surveyed are obese. Stress, binge eating, or being overwhelmed at work can be contributing factors to the rise of these poor habits. Last but not least, employees are found to be less likely to make healthy changes if they perceived themselves to be in good health. 13% of employees have four or more risk factors however 62% of employees believe that they are in good health.

IMPROVED LIFE AND WORK CHOICES REFLECT EMPLOYEE’S MOTIVATION

Malaysia has improved in certain areas – it has the highest numbers of employees who show motivation in changing their physical activities and weight. Additionally, more than half of the employees agreed that leadership in the workforce is positive. The survey indicated that 56% of Malaysians feel that their line managers care about their health and wellbeing.
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2017 WINNERS

HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE

HEALTHIEST EMPLOYEES

HEALTHIEST EMPLOYER

FINDINGS

The Healthiest Workplace Survey 2017 by AIA Vitality provides employers in Malaysia with an essential overview of their employees’ wellbeing and a greater understanding of the efficacy of their companies’ health interventions in the workplace. The survey creates an awareness of the importance of workplace health and wellbeing among both employers and employees.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

64% of Malaysian employees are physically inactive, yet close to a quarter of employers in Malaysia have no interventions.

NUTRITION

90% of surveyed Malaysians employees do not eat a balanced diet. Their diets are poorest in the area of fruits and vegetables.

SLEEP

56% of Malaysian employees sleep less than seven hours a night, with more than half reporting poor quality of sleep.

MENTAL HEALTH

53% of Malaysian employees are at risk of mental health issues, yet close to 44% of employers offer no interventions at all.

PRODUCTIVITY

Malaysians lose 67 days a year to absenteeism and presenteeism.

MALAYSIA’S HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

This is a special supplement that AIA Malaysia worked on with The Edge, Malaysia’s leading business weekly to promote workplace health. It contains the findings of the Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality survey 2017. Happy reading.

SUMMARY

KEY FINDINGS

Malaysia saw the greatest number of employers participating in the Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality Survey 2017 with 5,369 employees from 47 organisations in urban areas taking part.

The survey revealed some real concerns about stress in the workplace and issues surrounding sleep patterns. It is clear that Malaysia suffers from a culture of long working hours, much like its Asian counterparts of Hong Kong and Singapore.

Physical inactivity and poor nutrition are areas of concern for employers and employees alike.

Employers in Malaysia offer a generally good raft of wellbeing interventions with blind spots in mental health and physical activity.

LIFESTYLE HEALTH IS A CHALLENGE FOR MALAYSIAN EMPLOYEES

  • Physical inactivity is an issue in Malaysia where nearly 64% of employees do less than 150 minutes of physical activity a week, the highest percentage compared to Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. Most employees are sedentary throughout most of their working hours.
  • While few Malaysian drink more than 14 units a week (just 1.1%), 90% of surveyed Malaysians employees do not eat a balanced diet. Their diets are poorest in fruits and vegetables. 86% of Malaysians eat fewer than five servings of fruit and vegetables each day.
  • In addition, 11% of Malaysian employees currently smoke — the highest adult smoking rates compared to Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

CHRONIC DISEASES AND MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS POSE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISKS TO MALAYSIAN EMPLOYEES

  • Obesity is increasingly a problem in Malaysia - 12.5% of Malaysian employees are obese.
  • Of those who recalled their medical result, 46% of Malaysian employees are at risk of high blood pressure and 10% are at risk of high cholesterol.
  • 29% of Malaysian employees are at risk of having one or more chronic conditions, such as a heart or kidney condition, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
  • As in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, 84% of Malaysian employees reported at least one type of musculoskeletal condition, but fewer (50%) reported two or more.

MALAYSIAN EMPLOYEES DON’T GET ENOUGH SLEEP AND FACE INCREASED STRESS AT WORK

  • Malaysia showed the highest percentage of employees who slept less than seven hours a night (56%) with 67% reporting at least one sleep problem.
  • Malaysian employees also work the longest hours - on average 15 hours more than their contracted hours each week.
  • When it comes to taking breaks during the work day, Malaysian employees are somewhere between employees in Hong Kong and Singapore: 17% of Malaysian employees can’t decide when to take a break.
  • 53% of employees in Malaysia report at least one dimension of work-related stress, compared to 43% in Singapore, 64% in Hong Kong, and approximately half of Australians.
  • Financial concerns are an issue in Malaysia, as they are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. 20% of Malaysian employees report ‘a lot’ of financial concerns.
  • The occurrence of bullying in Malaysia was broadly in line with incidences in Hong Kong and Singapore, with 18% of employees in Malaysia reporting that they are exposed to bullying at work, and 4% of Malaysian employees reporting that they are bullied ‘often or always’.
  • 12% of Malaysian employees experience high levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms.

MALAYSIAN EMPLOYEES ARE MOTIVATED TO CHANGE, BUT THE MAJORITY ARE HAZY ON THE TRUE STATE OF THEIR HEALTH

  • Based on the survey, Malaysians are very motivated to change their lifestyle. Almost 90% indicated that that they want to help to reduce their weight and approximately 65% are eager to improve their levels of physical activity.
  • 15% of those surveyed have 4 or more risk factors, but yet 45% of those believe they are in ‘good’ or ‘very good’ health.
  • 97% of Malaysian employees have an AIA Vitality age higher than their actual age, compared to 95% in Hong Kong and Singapore, and 86% in Australia.
  • In Malaysia, the AIA Vitality Age Gap is 5.5 years, compared to 4.5 years in Singapore, 3.6 years in Hong Kong, and 3.4 years in Australia. The more a person’s AIA Vitality age exceeds their actual age, the less healthy they are.*

MALAYSIAN EMPLOYEES AND ORGANISATIONS EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIVITY LOSS

  • The link between an organisation’s productivity and employee health and well-being can be explored through two measures – absence and presenteeism. Malaysia came second in terms of productivity loss, after Hong Kong.
  • A total of 67 days per employee per year were lost, primarily to presenteeism (lost productivity from employees who show up to work despite health and morale issues), which accounted for 58.8 days per year. Absenteeism accounts for 8.2 days.
  • In Malaysia, the average yearly cost of health-related absenteeism and presenteeism per organisation is estimated at RM2.7 million.

MORE THAN HALF EMPLOYEES FEEL SUPPORTED IN THE WORKPLACE

  • 53% of Malaysian employees feel their line managers care about their health and wellbeing.
  • 54% feel their leaders view employee health and wellbeing an important part of their organisation’s success, and 60% feel their line managers encourage them at work.
  • The survey showed that 11% of Malaysian employees are ‘highly’ engaged at work, while 19% of employees showed ‘low’ levels of work engagement.

WORKPLACE HEALTH INTERVENTIONS: THERE IS A NEED TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND TAKE-UP RATE

  • Although Malaysian employees participate in a typical number of wellness interventions, there is still low awareness. The take-up of health and wellbeing programmes in the country need to be improved.
  • In Malaysia, 91% of employers offer at least one workplace intervention, while 58% of employees participate in at least one intervention at work.
  • However, on average only 14% of employees are aware of the interventions on offer.
  • While many Malaysian employees are physically inactive, 25% of employers in Malaysia have no intervention to encourage physical activity. While more than half of Malaysian employees are at risk of mental health, close to 44% of employers offer no interventions at all.
  • With the personalised organisational health report from Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality, employers will be able to understand the health of their organisation, as well as the effectiveness of their current health strategies.

* Note: AIA Vitality Age shows the impact of a range of lifestyle, clinical and mental wellbeing risks on an individual’s long-term health. The difference between a person’s AIA Vitality age and their actual age is referred to as their AIA Vitality Age gap. If a participant is particularly fit and healthy, their AIA Vitality Age could be lower than the actual age.

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