Determinants of employee perception on financial well-being in Putrajaya

This study examines the relationship between financial stress, work environment, locus of control, financial behavior and financial well-being among public employees in Putrajaya. A survey was carried out to acquire data from 374 public employees using a self-administered online questionnaire, utilizing multistage random sampling. Results showed that financial stress (r= -0.643**, p< 0.01), work environment (r= 0.247**, p< 0.01), locus of control (r= 0.395**, p< 0.01) and financial behavior (r= 0.363**, p< 0.01) have significant relationship with financial well-being. It was discovered that respondents who were experiencing lower financial stress, have positive work environment, locus of control and financial behavior tend to have a better financial well-being. Financial stress (beta = -0.543, p< 0.01), work environment (beta = 0.080, p< 0.01), locus of control (beta = 0.132, p< 0.01) and financial behavior (beta = 0.244, p<0.01) have significant influence on respondents’ financial well-being. Based on the results, financial well-being can be enhanced through the decreased of the employees’ financial stress and increasing of their work environment, locus of control and financial behavior

Determinants of financial well-being among public employees in Putrajaya, Malaysia

People generally see finance as anything that can be associated with the economic situation of the family. Thus, managing finances among individuals may result in satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards their financial situation, which is called financial well-being. Previous research regarding financial well-being has largely focused on factors such as financial stress, financial knowledge and financial behaviour. However, influences by the locus of control and work environment on financial well-being were little explored. Thus, this research studied the factors affecting financial well-being among public employees in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This study is a quantitative study using a set of online structured questionnaire to obtain the necessary data. A total of 207 completed questionnaires, out of 316 responded questionnaires, were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The results indicated that financial stress, work environment, locus of control and financial behaviour were significantly associated with financial well-being. In addition, financial stress was the strongest factor affecting financial well-being followed by work environment. At the end, the outcome of this study can be used for a better understanding of employees' financial behaviour, which can be enhanced through financial education at the workplace

Perceptions of work environment, locus of control and financial well-being among Putrajaya employees

In recent decades, the severe change in the world economy indicated by changes of GDP has triggered insightful effects on an individual’s well-being (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2013). Financial well-being play a big role in well-being of on individual (Kalia, 2016). As a matter of fact, Joo (2008) stated that financial well-being is a sub-element of general well-being which makes it among the five crucial elements of well-being (Rath & Harter, 2010b). Consequently, financial wellbeing research is increasingly popular in the 21st century (Rath & Harter, 2010a). Financial educators, coaches and practitioners work together hand-inhand to help people improve their financial lives and alleviate to a better financial well-being state

Profile and differences in financial literacy: empirical evidence

The increasing cost of living in Malaysia has resulted in individuals and households being more mindful of their wealth management. Financial crises and world geopolitical issues have caused much volatility in returns and market volatility. These economic challenges have impacted the way Malaysians save, spend, manage risks and invest in order to preserve their livelihood. It is therefore vital to understand financial instruments and markets in order to better manage investments and wealth. This research aims to study the level of financial literacy among Malaysians across gender, income, age and ethnicity group. It applies a quantitative study method with a self-administered questionnaire to obtain relevant data. A total sample of 2000 respondents is obtained and results reveal that unfortunately, the majority of Malaysians possess only moderate level of financial literacy. In addition, there are significant differences in female, who are in the above the RM7000 income group, 30 to 39 years old and Chinese in terms of financial literacy. Findings from the study provide a better understanding of the level of Malaysians" financial literacy and implication on policy objectives to further strengthen this area through targeted sustainable financial education

Financial capability and differences in age and ethnicity

The objective of this study is to disclose the effect of socio-demographic characteristics such as, age and ethnicity which is comprised of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Others on four financial capability domains namely planning ahead, managing money, choosing products and staying informed. A closed ended self-administered questionnaire was disseminated to a total of 2000 respondents among four types of groups which consist of FELDA or rural area residents, private sector employees, government sector employees and youth in institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. Those four groups were selected to cover a wide range of Malaysian population. 500 respondents were involved in this study for each types of groups through purposive sampling technique. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and analysis via Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was utilized in this study. The results revealed that age has significant effect on planning ahead, managing money, choosing products and staying informed. Whereas, ethnicities were found to have no effect on financial capability except planning ahead domain. It is suggested that more devotion should be placed on research and professional training in building respondents' financial capability. Furthermore, government and non-government organizations should develop a comprehensive approach to intensify their financial capability and upgrade their standards of living especially of financially vulnerable households

A preliminary evaluation of financial literacy in Malaysia

Malaysians have been adversely affected by the greatly increased cost of living in the last decade. The majority of them are feeling as if they are not able to cope with the current standard of living relative to the level of income they are generating. Many have been forced to work two jobs and it is not surprising that these challenges have made them desperate and susceptible to financial fraud and falling victims to financial scams. Economic challenges have impacted the way Malaysians save, spend, manage risks and invest in order to preserve their normal daily livelihood. Among the factors for this are the lack of understanding of how best to manage their finances and financial literacy. This research aims to reveal the financial literacy of Malaysians with information regarding financial understanding, knowledge, and skills that respondents possess. It applies a quantitative study method with a self-administered questionnaire to obtain relevant data from a sample of 2000 respondents across a wide selection of: i) public sector employees; ii) private sector employees; iii) FELDA/rural area residents; and iv) youth in institutions of higher learning. Findings reveal that the majority of Malaysians believe that expenses can be higher than income and possess inadequate understanding of risks and investment

Using dollahites ABCD - XYZ resource management model of crisis or stress as a framework for understanding financial Well-being

Financial well-being is a perception of an individual's financial situation. Mostly financial well-being is connected with personal resource management. However, hardly any investigation has been done under financial stress situation while managing resources. This reflects that, resource management and stress management have been investigated separately which bring a gap in both areas. In understanding financial well-being, there is a need to integrate resource management and stress theory. Therefore, a model that covers both resource management and stress theory will be used namely Dollahite's ABCD-XYZ Resource Management Model of Crisis or Stress. This paper studies some of the common predictor variables of financial well-being in resource management under stress circumstances through ABCD-XYZ Resources Management Model of Crisis or Stress. Hence, this may guide interested parties to integrate both areas in their field

Predictors of financial well-being and mediating effect of financial behaviour among public employees in Putrajaya, Malaysia

Generally, finance has been comprehended as an individual’s future cash flows which require a proper money management. Hence, financial management amongst individual could affect dissatisfaction or satisfaction of an individual’s financial situation which known as financial well-being. Financial characteristics is determined by, and therefore an indicator of the financial well-being. The main objective of this study was to examine the factors related to financial well-being among public employees. The family resource management theory, family stress management theory and ABCD-XYZ Resource Management Model of Crisis/Stress functioned as the basis for the theoretical framework of the study. A conceptual framework was established from the theoretical settings to identify the financial characteristics influences of demand related factors (financial stress,rewards and promotions, facility and safety and interrelationships), resource related factors (internal locus and external locus of control) and financial behaviour on financial well-being. The study also investigated the mediating effects of financial behaviour in the relationships between financial characteristics and financial well-being. A multistage random sampling was used to gather the 500 data public employees from four ministries, namely, Ministry of Human Resource,Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-Operatives and Consumerism, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth and Sport located in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya. The self-administered questionnaire was disseminated using online survey technique. There were 374 useable and completed questionnaire maintained for the analysis of the study. The data were statistically analyzed using descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modelling via Smart PLS. A relatively good fit of the model (R2 = 0.495) to the data was obtained in the study. There were significant linear relationships found between financial stress (β = -0.542, p= 0.000), financial behaviour (β = 0.266, p = 0.000) and external locus of control(β = 0.085, p = 0.039) towards financial well-being. The financial behaviour was distinguished as a mediator in the relationships between external locus of control and financial well-being. This study seemed to support the importance of financial characteristics, with the empirically substantiated findings alongside the theoretical rationalizations, in understanding the financial well-being of public employees. This study provides a predictive framework explaining financial wellbeing of the public employees. The present study suggests that the interventions have to be addressed at multiple targets within system levels in behalf of the relationships of different individuals attached into these systems. Predictably,interventions that focus on a micro level will be insufficient to deal with acquire of financial well-being. Therefore, it is suggested to integrate all financial well-being predictors to address multiple related issues and implement research knowledge as well as good practices while formulating interventions

Effects of gender and income on Malaysian’s financial capability

The rapidly changing world and financial landscape have resulted in the availability of newer and more attractive financing alternatives, thus attracting the attention of households and resulting in the increasing debt levels in developed and emerging countries alike. This is a worrying trend and nations are scrambling to ensure that their consumers are well-equipped with the knowledge and practice of financial capability to prevent the problem of overreliance on debt and welfare, as well as to enhance financial health sustainability. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on the four domains of financial capability, namely planning ahead, managing money, choosing products, and staying informed. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 2000 respondents across Malaysia, whereby data analysis revealed that gender posed a significant effect on the domains of planning ahead and staying informed. In contrast, income did not affect financial capability. Thus, it is recommended that greater attention should be placed on research and professional training towards building one’s financial capability. Furthermore, both the government and non-governmental organisations should develop an inclusive approach to increase the financial capability and upgrade the living standards of especially-financially-vulnerable households

Financial well-being among public employees in Malaysia: a preliminary study

Public employee’s innovativeness, responsiveness, efficiency and friendliness in services are the core prescriptions to enhance the competitiveness of one’s country. Financial well-being and employees are two aspects that consequently related with each other that have received substantial deliberation from researchers, employers and financial advisor. Financial well-being can affect both direct and indirectly towards an individual, team and also organization. Changes in employee’s financial well-being level whether it becomes high or low will affect their job performance. The purpose of this study is to discuss the level of public employee’s financial well-being in Malaysia as well as to examine the determinants of financial well-being. A total of 73 questionnaires have been distributed through e-survey (email based) using convenient sampling technique in order to conduct this pilot test (pre-test). Only 30 public employees have participated in this study. The results identified that majority of public employees is at the moderate level of financial well-being. Even so, appropriate action should be taken through financial education in order to prevent worst case scenario in the future