Factors Affecting Employee Engagement in the Malaysian Private Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Employee engagement is pivotal to the success of an organization. The literature has indicated that employee engagement is enhanced via strong leadership, improved work-life balance, increased training and development as well as employee recognition. As such, this study aimed to examine the effects of these factors on employee engagement, especially among the Malaysian private sector, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study would provide an impetus to the Malaysian private sector to enhance employee engagement with policies that focus on making employees at the workplace passionate and highly involved. The results of this study will also add value to the existing literature on employee engagement. A quantitative survey was conducted, with questionnaires distributed online. This study targeted both male and female employees aged between 20 years old and 60 years old working in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 154 respondents answered the online questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS Software to identify the reliability and linearity of these variables as well as the testing of the correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that both leadership and training and development had significant positive relationships with employee engagement. The scientific novelty of the study can be found from the findings of this research whereby employees desire a leader during the difficult times who can help them be more engaged in their work, and employees require more training and development, which are job-related, especially as the private sector embraces the endemic stage of COVID-19. Implications of the research findings are presented in this study. © 2022, City University of Hong Kong Press. All rights reserved.