KUALA LUMPUR: A survey of 94,000 workers in 21 countries, including 3,162 responses from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, revealed that Malaysian employees are quite mobile, being open to offers from other organisations.

The Global Workforce study 2007 conducted by professional services firm Towers Perrin found that Malaysian workers were the most mobile after Singapore.

More than 800 employees of middle and large organisations in Malaysia were surveyed and they were found to be very open to moving jobs and considering new offers as they were focused on career advancement.

However, the survey also found that despite the high mobility among Malaysian employees, Malaysia had a more engaged workforce than the rest of the world, with engaged being defined as the combination of rational, emotional and motivational factors that see the extra effort from workers.

The study revealed that 24 per cent of Malaysian workers were engaged compared to only one in five globally, 21 per cent.

“Malaysians identify closely with the concept of ‘engagement’ in which 69 per cent of them are more engaged because they believe in an organisation’s objectives and 81 per cent due to understanding clearly how their unit contributes to the company’s overall success,” said Dr Hamish Deery, managing principal of Asia Pacific, Towers Perrin-International Survey Research (ISR).

Engaged workers are vital members of the team because they add the most value to their organisations and these are highly motivated employees who bring lots of passion and focus to the business and are willing to work hard to ensure it succeeds.

In spite of that, the study also found that Malaysian employees are more concerned about job promotion opportunities, relationship with senior management and high levels of support from their organisations in helping them reach their professional goals.

Towers Perrin’s market leader for Malaysia and Singapore, Michael Drawhorn said organisations in Malaysia which are keen on engaging employees should offer good training and development opportunities.

Drawhorn was speaking to reporters after a press briefing here yesterday on the survey findings. — Bernama