Engagement, performance, resources health & well-bein in the Malaysian teleworking context

Like many other countries, Malaysia experienced a rapid shift from presence-based work to remote work during and post-COVID-19 pandemic. The complexity of technologies to work remotely has brought forward the need for re-examining the nature of work and its impact on mental health and well-being. Thus, the increased interest in exploring the new challenges emerging from the transitions into hybrid workspaces that incorporate digitalised work and artificial intelligence technologies. Nonetheless, it is the impact of these challenges on the engagement, performance, health, and well-being of the emerging young workforce in Malaysia remains unexplored. Thus, the focus of this study is on examining the experience of work-related stress, psychological resources, work engagement, performance, health and well-being of young employees in Malaysia. An online questionnaire was used to collect data during 2021 and 2022 across 335 white-collar employees working remotely in Malaysia. The preliminary descriptive data analysis indicates significant differences among Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z in terms of their experience of stress, work-life balance, and well-being outcomes (e.g. somatic stress, and symptoms of depression and anxiety). The results of this study could aid organizations in identifying suitable practices to support the engagement, performance and positive health and well-being of their young workforce as they transition into hybrid workspaces.