Talent & Tech Asia Summit 2024
human resources online

HR news in brief: Malaysia, June 2015

The 10 most and least stressful jobs

Due to the physical danger, unpredictability and negative psychological effects or tight deadlines and high expectations, some of the most stressful jobs of 2015 with their median salary (USD) are firefighter ($45,600), enlisted military personnel ($28,840), military general ($196,300), airline pilot ($98,410) and police officer ($56,980) rounding up the top five.

In sixth to tenth place, we have, actor ($46,070), broadcaster ($60,070), event coordinator ($45,810), photojournalist ($42,530) and newspaper reporter ($37,090).

On the opposite end of the scale some of the least stressful jobs with their median salary are hair stylist ($22,770), audiologist ($69,720), university professor (tenured) ($68,970), medical records technician ($34,160) and jeweller ($35,350) rounding up the top five least stressful jobs.

These are followed by medical laboratory technician ($47,820), seamstress/tailor ($25,590), Dietitian ($55,240), Librarian ($55,370) and forklift operator ($31,150) in sixth to tenth place.

Read more.

 

Predictions for human resources this year

A new report from Bersin by Deloitte listed out 10 predictions for HR in 2015, the first of which is that engagement, retention, culture and inclusion will remain front burner issues.

Companies will look to simplify their performance process to a more development and “coaching-oriented” one. Alongside, HR is expected to review the work environment and advise business leaders on how to simplify work.

Corporate learning is expected to take on increasing importance, as big data analytics and mobile learning apps gain prominence. Recruitment, on the other hand, is more likely to be led by referrals, talent communities and internal talent mobility than third-party agencies.

The study anticipated internal talent mobility to drive longer tenures and more productivity, by encouraging incentives that force managers to let people shop for new jobs internally, instead of pinning all their cards on a promotion.

It also called for HR managers to rigorously assess leaders at all levels, as well as give leaders incentives to develop their people.

The evolution of HR technology asks HR to focus on user experience, real-time data, and integration with social networks.

Read more.

 

These are the top 5 jobs of 2015

A role as an HR manager is ranked as the fourth best job for 2015, while the top three jobs are physician assistant, software engineer and business development manager.

This is according to Glassdoor’s inaugural report on the 25 best jobs in America for this year, ranked on the basis of earning potential, career opportunities rating and the number of job openings.

1. Physician assistant, 45,484 openings, an average annual salary of US$111,376 and a career opportunities rating of 3.5.

2. Software engineer, 104,828 openings, an average annual salary of US$98,074 and a career opportunities rating of 3.3.

3. Business development manager, 11,616 openings, an average annual salary of US$94,907 and a career opportunities rating of 3.5.

4. Human resources manager, 8,073 openings, an average annual salary of US$96,443 and a career opportunities rating of 3.6.

5. Finance manager, 9,728 openings, an average annual salary of US$122,865 and a career opportunities rating of 3.4.

Read more.

 

Malaysia tops Asia in English language proficiency

Malaysia has outpaced neighbour Singapore in English language proficiency, emerging number one among Asian nations.

However, despite being the top two in the region, Malaysia is only ranked 12th in the worldwide rankings while Singapore is ranked 13th.

A new report by English First finds Malaysia and Singapore were the only Asian countries noted for their “high” English proficiency, while India and Hong Kong fell in the “moderate” range of proficiency.

In Asia, the countries pointed out for their rapid progress in proficiency levels were Indonesia (6th regionally and 28th globally), Thailand (11th regionally and 48th globally) and Vietnam (9th regionally and 33rd globally).

Hong Kong was called out for its slipping English proficiency since 2007. Compared to China, it was said to be trailing, with Shanghai having a higher level of English proficiency than Hong Kong for the first time this year. Hong Kong is currently ranked 8th in Asia and 31st globally.

Another key finding is the gender gap in overall English proficiency, with women (with a score of 53.53) speaking better English than men (with a score of 50.75).

Read more.

 

Asia’s top 10 companies to work for

Google has now proven its popularity with professionals in Asia, emerging as the best organisation to work for in Asia, in Great Place to Work’s inaugural list.

Analysed on the basis of trust, pride and camaraderie, the top companies were found to spend approximately 95 hours on training.

A quarter of their management team members were women, while the average rate of absenteeism was 3%.

“Asia’s best also are part of a wider global trend toward higher levels of workplace trust at the best workplaces. This positive development is rooted in a number of factors. These include the rise of balance-minded Millennials, increased transparency into organisations, and mounting evidence that high-trust cultures lead to better business results.”

Here are the top 10 best places to work in Asia in 2015:

1. Google 2. Marriott 3. Ericsson 4. American Express 5. NetApp 6. Hyatt 7. Microsoft 8. Abbvie 9. Estée Lauder 10. Adobe

Read more.

 

Tips to make your employees feel loved

There’s no greater way to keep employees feeling loved than to have a healthy and supportive working relationship with them, in

Virgin Pulse’s latest survey of 1,000 full-time employees in the US and Canada.

Three in every five respondents said the employer-employee relationship affects their focus and productivity at work positively.

Another important engagement driver was found to be the work itself, with more than half of respondents stating that “interesting and challenging work” was the top reason they loved their company, beating out the company’s mission (38%).

From the report, employees also wanted their managers to show support in maintaining a work-life balance, as stated by 40%. In addition, almost one-third expressed their preference for “free programs and resources supporting my well-being”, and the same number also wished for “on-site gyms, fitness classes or health club reimbursements.”

Another not-so-secret to employee happiness was found to be good co-workers, cited by 40% of the respondents as the top reason they love their company. Two-thirds said this has a positive impact on their focus and productivity at work.

Read more.

 

Mark Zuckerberg’s secret to hiring top talent

Want the best people to work for you? Then get ready to hire only those who you would be willing to work for. This, Mark Zuckerberg says, is the secret to sifting out top talent during recruitment.

In a townhall with employees and partners, he was asked about how he recruits right.

“I would only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person,” was Zuckerberg’s response.

“This rule has served me pretty well,” he said. “I think as long as you have that as your rule for picking the people you work with, you’re not going to go wrong.”

How do you know when it is the best time to delegate? This was another question posed to Zuckerberg.

As a general rule of management, he believes: “If you get someone who’s really good on your team, they’re going to need the ability to fully exercise their creativity and capacity, or else they will not have the biggest impact.”

At Facebook, he says he does this by keeping the team “as small and flexible as possible.”

Read more.

 

10 words to cut from your LinkedIn profile

If you use words such as “passionate”, “motivated”, and “strategic” to describe yourself to others on social media, there’s a big chance your professional profile will go by unnoticed.

Those were the top three buzzwords identified in LinkedIn’s list of the most overused and underwhelmed terms and phrases in Singapore, with “driven” and “track record” rounding up the top five.

Buzzwords such as “creative”, “extensive experience”, “responsible”, “dynamic” and “analytical” followed in ranks 6th to 10th respectively.

“The new year inspires many of us to start thinking about our careers and explore new job opportunities,” LinkedIn’s blog post stated. “Before you begin your search, take some time to think about your professional brand and how you want to brand you.”

Read more.

Image: Shutterstock

Follow us on Telegram and on Instagram @humanresourcesonline for all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region!

Free newsletter

Get the daily lowdown on Asia's top Human Resources stories.

We break down the big and messy topics of the day so you're updated on the most important developments in Asia's Human Resources development – for free.

subscribe now open in new window