Perks That Work: Small Steps to Improve Productivity in Malaysian Workplaces

Productivity in our nation’s workplaces is on the rise. As much as it’s due to a handful of socioeconomic factors, like domestic demand, export-oriented manufacturing and policy stability. However, it’s also due to those small lifestyle choices. Things like a nice coffee in the morning, snack stations, microbreaks and flexible work schedules. It’s these small details that keep morale up and make a workplace comfortable and easy to work in.

That said, it’s also these small details that can be easy to miss or forget, so we’ve put together a guide to give you the rundown. Everything from the best coffee machines in Malaysia to the hard statistics needed to understand employee satisfaction.

What do Malaysian employees look for in a workplace?

If you’re looking to attract or keep talent, it’s important to keep your workplace competitive. The most modern way to do this is with a hybrid or flexible schedule. According to Business Today, most Malaysians want a hybrid role with two to four days in the office, with the rest of the week’s work done remotely.

Secondly, employees look for the smaller stuff that makes a big impact, or the perks that work. The benefits that improve the day-to-day are things like comfortable chairs, better coffee, smart parking systems and pleasant ambient noise. Even if they don’t realise it consciously, small details like a mechanical buzzing or dry air can sour an employee’s experience of an area.

How to assess your employee’s current satisfaction and productivity levels

Employee surveys

If you’re not sure what you should be targeting with your workplace improvements, there are a few tactics that you can take. The first is, of course, an anonymous survey. Offer a little raffle for responses and collect a mix of numerical and written answers (the more specific, the better).

For example, “On average, how often are you interrupted/distracted during your focused work in the office?” Set this on a 1-10 scale, specify what 1 and 10 represent, e.g. “1 means you are almost never distracted during focused work. 10 means you can’t go five minutes without an interruption from colleagues, noise, or other distractions”. You can then add a follow-up written answer question for detailed insight, like “What changes would you like to see in the workplace to help with this?”. These sorts of questions will help you gather real insights and visibility into how your employees are feeling about their work and workspace.

Metrics

Micro-surveys on smaller topics

Again simple 1-10 engagement surveys can be a good way to compare employee satisfaction before and after a new perk. For example, “How happy are you with the office temperature?” would help assess satisfaction with a new air-conditioning system.

Resignations and turnover

If resignations are high and employees are looking elsewhere, the workplace isn’t providing competitive benefits. This tends to be an all-encompassing issue, so don’t expect a coffee machine to tip the scales. That said, it’s one of the strongest indications of overall employee satisfaction.

Absentee days

Similarly, if employees often call in sick, it’s often a sign of dissatisfaction. More and more employees are taking sick days as mental health days or well-being days, with the average sick day usage hovering around 10 days a year. If your business is reaching figures above 10 for the average employee sick days, you may want to see how you can improve those numbers.

Perk usage

Perhaps the simplest way to see the effect of a new employee perk is to measure its usage. The more often you have to restock a coffee machine or snack station, the more employees enjoy the offering. Low usage perks should be switched to something more popular.

The coffee and snack selection

As much as employee productivity and satisfaction are ongoing battles, boosting productivity doesn’t always require a major overhaul. Sometimes, a tray of fresh fruit and snacks next to a good coffee machine can transform the office atmosphere. Investing in a high-quality coffee machine, which can be a bean-to-cup, capsule or even drip style, makes sure employees start their day with a consistently great cup, keeping energy levels up and moods positive.

A reliable machine also reduces downtime from poor-quality coffee, encourages informal social interactions and becomes a small but highly valued perk that makes the office feel welcoming. These small gestures, like free coffee, help to create a sense of community, encouraging people to spend time in the office and connect with colleagues. Plus, a welcoming break area doubles as a pleasant touchpoint for clients and visitors.

A few more practical perks

To give you a quick run-through of other suggestions, you should also consider:

Ergonomic chairs and sit-stand desks

Most chair companies have supportive posture down to a science, so it’s difficult to pick wrong when choosing an ergonomic chair. But to be safe, it’s worth rolling out the chairs to the whole company to do a tester. Have a handful of employees sit with them for a week, then buy more depending on preference.

Quiet zones

Meeting rooms can double as focus offices for group work or single employees needing to avoid distractions. Chances are you already have a booking system in place, so this tends to be an easy change to make.

Micro breaks

Short, guided breaks can be a great way to help manage stress without anything more than some soothing music or walking your team through a series of deep breaths and stretches. A few of these 5-10 minute breaks a week can be the perfect way to relieve tension at no expense. To take it further, you could offer brief mindfulness training courses to your teams, which scientists have found to have significant improvements in mindfulness levels.

Final Thoughts

There might not be a one-size-fits-all solution to productivity or satisfaction, but taking the time to understand your employees’ pain points and distractions goes a long way in finding solutions. Experiment a little with different tactics, offer different snacks, see what people like and see what improves the workplace culture.