THE transitional nature of the workplace has grabbed headlines for several years, with its importance to human capital gaining significant traction during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
There has been much conjecture, some finger-pointing and a degree of crystal-gazing as academics, politicians and employers attempt to wrestle with the consequences of changing employee perceptions and employer needs.
Malaysia, like the majority of countries in Asia, has experienced workplace transformation at a rather accelerated rate as we moved from face-to-face to online external transactions and internal exchanges in a relatively short period.
Such change is not new, with the often referred to “Industrial Revolution” examples of how businesses had harnessed technology to improve organisational efficiency and drive employees to reskill themselves so they could remain competitive in the labour market.
Today’s employment market transformation, however, feels different not only because of the documented socio-psychological impact on employees, but also the pace and perceived permanency of the change.
You get the sense that “we cannot go back to the way things were”, with stakeholders required to find new ways to work and enforce the ways of working.
Employers are currently experiencing the so-called “great attrition”, with employees citing “burnout”, “overworking” and “mental fragility” as factors which characterise their working lives.
A recent study has placed Kuala Lumpur as among the worst cities for work-life balance and it is not alone, with several Asian cities joining it in the lower half of the league table.
At face value, this is a concern for staff retention and how employees perceive their value to the organisation. There are also wider implications for graduates entering the labour market.
Employees wishing to take control of their working conditions – seeking a better work-life balance, flexible working, improved working conditions, and a supportive organisational culture – require a different mindset from both employers and employees, and as a consequence, educational establishments.
In an employment market offering workers the opportunity to “be their own bosses”, and where the gig economy is perceived as an attractive alternative to the traditional nine-to-five job, young workers have viable choices in how they engage with employment.
To help and support the next generation of employees, education providers will prove pivotal to preparing and supporting them through a period of uncertainty as the employment market deviates from the accepted norm towards an ambiguous path, paved with exciting opportunities for employees and perceived challenges for employers.
Education providers have traditionally been the conduit between graduates and employers, preparing them with a curriculum founded on skills-based learning outcomes and work-based learning.
Through internships, international mobility and real-world business problems, the graduate skills gap is bridged with the “employability record” of universities cited as evidence that their academic content is in line with the needs of industry.
However, to keep bridging the gap, education providers have to keep adapting and the great attrition is the latest opportunity to facilitate change.
The onset of the pandemic brought about changes to the learning delivery platform, with classes being conducted exclusively online and then hybrid. The pace of learning – with the advent of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and open distance learning – allowed the learner to study at times convenient to them.
In addition, the online and offline classroom designs have been revisited to offer a more conducive environment to today’s learners.
Programmes have changed in line with the needs of employers, with specialisms and aspects of technology infused into the body of knowledge to facilitate diverse, multifaceted learners who can challenge complexities and problem-solve in an increasingly agile environment.
While education providers are used to changing, the great attrition has somewhat thrown them a curveball, challenging academics to consider more than just adding enhancements and to fundamentally rethink programme content to ensure graduates are emotionally and practically prepared for the labour market.
Today’s academic programmes have to blend subject-specific content so that graduates have the latest knowledge before entering the field, and soft skills so that they can exhibit empathy, create a positive working culture and be aware of their own and their colleagues’ well-being.
Perhaps blend is the wrong word; blend, infuse and integrate are phrases often used to add “something”, be it a module or activity, but with soft skills being a rather ambiguous term, a more fundamental reshaping of the way programmes are put together is required to cover elements which are not comprehensively included in today’s academic curriculum.
To ensure balanced graduates for today’s labour market, education providers need to find harmony between the subject knowledge and life skills, not just through the inclusion of professional skills electives – nor hope for the necessary human capital knowledge to be absorbed through an internship.
Programmes of study require human capital development to integrate choice, empowerment, diversity and emotional content so that the learners of today perceive education providers as still the best platform to prepare them for the world of work.
When we look across the educational landscape in Malaysia, we can see that many of the necessary curriculum changes are underway with perceived innovation in how we are preparing graduates for the labour market.
Flexible learning is becoming more established as a vehicle to ready graduates for work and is also aligned with the identified needs of current employees.
Entrepreneurship and its collaterals have become part of the programme DNA in some universities, able to provide graduates with career choices and insight into work-life balance.
Self-reflection and managing oneself are being increasingly assessed through assignments, assisting in graduates’ abilities to pace themselves and avoid burnout.
Education providers are ever-changing to provide graduates with a sense of control over their learning and more importantly, equip them with the tools to not only cope, but also drive transformational business change.
Embracing the themes to emerge from the great attrition debate will not only better prepare graduates for employment, but will also underline education providers’ position as constant innovators and necessary conduits between graduates and employers.
Dr Jason Turner is an associate professor and senior head at the School of Business in Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU). Holding a doctor of philosophy (PhD) from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, his areas of expertise include digital and strategic transformation and human capital, with a specific focus on graduate work readiness and digital learning space. Having moved to Malaysia in 2016, following 12 years as an academic in the United Kingdom, he has expanded his network across Europe, South America and Asia through external engagement and collaborative research projects. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
