Majority of Malaysian employees (53%) working on less than 7 hours of sleep

Stressed and sleep-deprived: This is how Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2019 survey describes the workforce in Malaysia, after  studying the state of affairs across 230 organisations of different sizes and sectors across the nation.

The survey, conducted annually, found that more than half of employees suffer from at least one dimension of work-related stress (51%), while the majority get less than seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour cycle (53%).

What's more, 14% of the 17,595 employees surveyed noted that they had poor or very poor-quality sleep. At the same time, 17% of employees reported that they felt tired and fatigued every single day and yet 20% of them cannot decide when to take a break.

The survey also highlighted that 84% of employees reported at least one or more musculoskeletal conditions (such as shoulder and neck pain) - a result of long hours at the office hunching over computers.

Other key findings for Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2019 survey include:

• 22% of employees reported that they had a lot of financial burdens - a contributing factor of underlying mental health problems.
• 20% of employees continue to be affected by workplace bullying which overall contribute to their stress at work.
• A total of 73.3 days per employee are lost due to absence and presenteeism, costing employer RM1.46 million per year.
• 16% of employees have low or very low levels of engagement at work.
• 32% of employees have one or more chronic conditions (kidney conditions, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, stroke or cancer)
• 90% of employees do not eat a balanced diet.
• 42% of employees are either overweight or obese.
• 45% of organisations do not offer any mental health interventions.
• 98% of employees have an AIA Vitality Age that is higher than their actual age.

The survey results were revealed at AIA's Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace Summit 2019. Commenting on the findings at the event, Ben Ng, Chief Executive Officer, AIA, said: "The survey continues to highlight the prevalence of depression, anxiety, sleep insufficiency, to name a few, in our workforce which contributes to low levels of productivity in organisations.

"There is a clear need for employers to first, recognise that a happier and well-rested workforce is a more productive one and second, to promote interventions that don’t just focus on physical and nutritional health but also mental wellbeing."

The winners of the Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality 2019 Awards were also announced, where companies were recognised for their respective efforts in promoting workplace health and creating a healthy environment for their employees.

The winners for each award category are as follows:

1. Malaysia’s Healthiest Employees

• Small organisation (20-249 employees) – Mindvalley
• Medium organisation (250-999 employees) – Agilent Technologies LDA Malaysia
• Large organisation (1,000 employees and above) – Technip Geoproduction (M)

• Small organisation – Yayasan Pahang
• Medium organisation – International Medical University (IMU)
• Large organisation – Dell Global Business Center

• Small organisation – Yayasan Pahang
• Medium organisation – International Medical University (IMU)
• Large organisation – Dell Global Business Center

• Small organisation – Yayasan Pahang
• Medium organisation – KPJ Pasir Gudang Specialist Hospital
• Large organisation – McDonald’s Malaysia