59% of Malaysians have quit or would quit over a toxic workplace, the highest rate in Asia Pacific.
Randstad’s 2025 Workmonitor surveyed 503 Malaysians and found that 59% had either left a job or would leave a job because of a toxic workplace.
That is the highest figure in the entire Asia Pacific region.
Another 48% said they would reject a job offer outright from a company known for bad culture, and among Gen Z that jumps to 59%.
Aon’s 2025 Salary Increase and Turnover Study put Malaysia’s attrition rate at 18.2% in 2025, up sharply from 15.3% in 2024. Retail and hospitality hit 22.2%.
Meanwhile the average salary increase budgeted for 2026 is only 4.8%.
People are not leaving because the money is amazing elsewhere. They are leaving because staying costs too much.
What culture actually means (the 3 layer test)
- What gets rewarded
Who got promoted in the last 18 months, and why? If the people moving up are the ones who reply at 11pm rather than the ones who deliver, the culture rewards visibility, not output. You will be expected to match that.
2. What gets punished
What happens to someone who says “I disagree” in a meeting, or takes their full annual leave, or refuses a weekend request? If the honest answer is “they get quietly sidelined”, that is the culture, no matter what the employer branding video says.
3. What gets tolerated
Tolerated behaviour is endorsed behaviour. Randstad’s 2026 Malaysia data found poor relationship with management sits in the top five reasons people quit, and 53% cite low compensation while 41% cite the lack of work-life balance.
The Malaysian corporate speak decoder
| What The Job Ad Says | What It Often Means |
|---|---|
| “We are like a family here” | Boundaries will be treated as betrayal |
| “Fast paced environment” | Understaffed, no proper handover |
| “Must be able to wear many hats” | Three jobs, one salary |
| “We work hard, play hard” | Compulsory socialising after unpaid OT |
| “No experience needed” | No process, you will firefight daily |
| “Salary negotiable based on experience” | Below market, they hope you ask low |
Red flags you can spot before you sign
The same role keeps getting reposted
Check JobStreet, LinkedIn and the company career page. If the identical title has appeared three times in 12 months, they are losing people faster than they can hire.
Nobody in the team has been there over 18 months
Search the department on LinkedIn and look at tenure. A whole team of sub-two-year stints usually means the manager, not the market.
They badmouth the person you are replacing
“The last one could not handle the pace” tells you exactly how they will describe you after you leave.
Exploding offer with a 24 hour deadline
Legitimate urgency exists, but a company that will not give you 48 hours is either disorganised or does not want you thinking too hard.
They dodge the working hours question
A clear answer is a good sign even if the answer is long hours. A laugh and “depends lah” is the answer.
Reviews from different years say the same thing
One angry review is noise. The same complaint about favouritism appearing in 2024, 2025 and 2026 across different departments is data.
The offer letter and the interview do not match
Verbal promises about bonus, remote days or job scope that never appear in writing will not survive your first quarter.
Questions that get honest answers
“What is the average length of time people stay in this team?”
Softer than asking about turnover, and just as revealing. Watch the pause before the answer.
“Why did the last person in this role leave?”
A healthy company answers plainly, usually with a promotion or a relocation. Evasion is the answer.
“Can you describe the last time someone disagreed with you and what happened?”
This is the single best culture question. A manager who cannot recall one instance either has no dissent or does not notice it.
“What time did the team log off yesterday?”
Specific and unrehearsed. Much harder to spin than “we value work-life balance”.
The new legal rules you should know about
Workplace bullying is no longer just an HR complaint in Malaysia. The Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2025 inserted Sections 507B to 507G, in force since 11 July 2025.
Section 507B covers threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour intended or likely to cause harassment, distress, fear or alarm, with imprisonment of up to three years.
Sections 507E and 507F cover doxxing. Where provocation leads to attempted or completed suicide, the maximum rises to 10 years.
Separately, DOSH introduced the PRisMA guidelines in 2024, a framework for employers to assess and manage psychosocial risks such as excessive workload, unclear roles, bullying and poor work-life balance, sitting under the employer’s duty of care in OSHA 1994 as amended in 2022.
If you are already in one
Document everything with dates, screenshots and witnesses. Raise it in writing internally first. JTKSM handles labour complaints free on 1800-88-8228. For dismissal disputes, a representation under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967 must be filed within 60 days of dismissal. Serious harassment can also be a police report.
