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Recession Creates New Breed Of Malaysian Workforce
KUALA LUMPUR, May 5(Bernama) -- Malaysia's economic recession has forged a new generation ofhome-grown entrepreneurs, with many wanting to work independently.
According to the latest survey by global workforcesolutions leader Kelly Services, one-in-six respondents had describedthemselves as "self-employed".
More than half of the rest, expressed a desire to workmore independently.
The findings were part of the Kelly Global WorkforceIndex, which obtained the views of approximately 134,000 people, includingalmost 2,000 in Malaysia.
It said almost half the respondents wanted to start theirown business, with Gen Y (aged 18-29) more enthusiastic about startingcommercial ventures than Gen X (aged 30-47) and baby boomers (48-65).
The result showed that 17 per cent of the respondentscurrently self-employed, comprised 23 per cent baby boomers, 18 per cent of GenY and 13 per cent of Gen X.
The main factors cited for moving into self-employmentwere uncertainty about income, risk of failure and lack of support, KellyServices said in statement.
Also, of the 47 per cent of respondents who planned tostart a business, 50 per cent were Gen Y, 40 per cent Gen X and 31 per centbaby boomers.
"Many of those who lost their jobs as a result ofthe global economic crisis are reinventing themselves as independentcontractors, freelancers and consultants," said Managing Director of KellyServices Malaysia, Melissa Norman.
She said more people were now taking charge of their owncareers and viewed self-employment as a way of achieving personal andprofessional success.
The statement said the appeal of self-employmentcoincided with a trend toward the outsourcing of non-core functions, which hadseen many organisations reduce their permanent workforce, creating newopportunities for these independent contractors.
The industries with the greatest concentration ofself-employed workers were education, travel and leisure, business services andengineering.
It was also observed that there was a pattern of youngerworkers being more enthusiastic than their older counterparts about embarkingon a more flexible and entrepreneurial work arrangement.-- BERNAMA
