Factors Influencing the Career Satisfaction of Gig Workers within the Klang Valley

Arthi Ravindran; Hemaloshinee Vasudevan

doi:10.56741/IISTR.jmsd.001975

Authors

Arthi Ravindran Universiti Tun Abdul Razak
Hemaloshinee Vasudevan
loshinee8325@gmail.com
Universiti Tun Abdul Razak https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2767-8044

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56741/IISTR.jmsd.001975

Keywords:

Career Satisfaction, Gig Workers, Job Security, Social Protection, Working Environment

Abstract

The gig economy is crucial to Malaysia's labor market, notably in the Klang Valley, where gig workers significantly contribute to sectors like e-hailing and food delivery. Improved career satisfaction among these workers enhances global economic growth and productivity. The issue of inequality between formal and informal gig workers is increasingly recognized, highlighting the growing vulnerability of gig workers. The study focuses on factors affecting career satisfaction, including income, job security, social protection, and the working environment. The study uses a quantitative, descriptive approach grounded in assessing career satisfaction among gig workers. It analyzed survey data from 394 participants through SPSS, based on a non-probability convenience sampling method. A sample size of 394 was determined from an estimated population of 10,000 gig workers in Klang Valley, achieving a response rate of 98.5% at a 95% confidence level. Income stability (H1: t=6.256; p <0.001), job security (H2: t=3.390; p <0.001), social protections (H3: t=2.603; p=0.010) and supportive work environment (H4: t=-0.603; p=0.547) is a significant factor in career satisfaction. The Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (Act 789) has notably influenced the social protection of gig workers in Malaysia since 2017, offering valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders to enhance career satisfaction and well-being, thus fostering sustainable growth in the gig economy.

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Author Biographies

Arthi Ravindran, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak

is a graduate of the Master of Public Management programme. She has a few years of experience in the labour market ecosystem, particularly in engaging with gig workers and supporting the transition from informal to formal employment, an initiative under PERKESO in 2023-2024. This experience became a key turning point that inspired her research interest in the gig economy and the lived experiences of gig workers in Malaysia. She is currently serving as a Learning and Development Associate in one of the government-linked companies (GLCs), where she continues to contribute to capacity-building and people development initiatives as part of her professional learning journey. Her research examined the factors affecting career satisfaction among gig workers, intending to deepen understanding of the Malaysian gig ecosystem and inform future policy and labour market interventions. (email: arthiravindran20@gmail.com).

Hemaloshinee Vasudevan, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak

received her PhD in General and a major in Organizational Behaviour from the University of Technology Malaysia (UTM). She is currently a faculty member at UNIRAZAK. She had 16 years’ experience in the education line and 2 ½ years in the industrial field. She had published in various journals in the business and management field. However, she also has experience in reviewing journals and has been an associate editor at an international journal for more than 5 years. She has published many articles, including research papers, review papers, and narrative case studies on platforms like International, National journals, Scopus, and Web of Science. She is therefore interested in performing research in various areas. Her areas of interest include marketing, artificial intelligence, training, organizational behaviour, sociology, criminology, and business management. (email: hemaloshinee25@gmail.com).

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