Malaysian boss calls out 100% work from office culture: 'No reason to insist on being in office'

Idza Hajar shared how she has implemented a “Work from Wherever” policy for her team.

Mandatory office rules have become a growing concern for modern workers. Many companies now require employees to return to their desks five days a week, even when most tasks can be completed while working from home.

Hajar, an advocate in Malaysia, shared her views on flexible work. (Pexels/Representational Image)

Long commutes, rising travel costs, and rigid schedules often leave employees feeling tired and less focused.

Recently, a Malaysian boss, Idza Hajar, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) called out 100% work from office culture.

Work from wherever policy for the team:

Hajar, an advocate in Malaysia, shared her views on flexible work. She explained how she has implemented a Work from Wherever (WFW) policy for her team.

In her post, Hajar highlights that if work can be done from a laptop, there is no reason to insist employees be in the office 100% of the week.

According to her, this way of working is honestly counterproductive and does not make sense for modern teams.

“It's honestly counter productive.” she adds.

HT.com has reached out to the user for more details. This report will be updated when she responds.

Check out the post here:

Here's how people reacted to the post:

X users reacted strongly to the post, with many sharing their own workplace struggles.

One of the users commented, “The best managers I've worked for cared about results, not where I sat. The worst ones measured presence instead of performance.”

A second user commented, “Driving 45 minutes to sit in a cubicle and join a Zoom call with people in the next room is my villain origin story.”

A third user commented, “Because nobody has the TV on and is preparing meals and house cleaning while supposedly working from home. Not all, but certainly more than a few.”

“Smart companies implement a hybrid workplace, the requirement to attend the office with the flexibility of remote working, this seems logically fair and productive for all parties,” another user commented.

WFH policy misused:

Recently, a manager claimed that his company’s flexible WFH policy was being exploited by an employee who went for a staycation in Dehradun in the middle of a critical project.

He recalled that when confronted over days of poor performance and unavailability, the employee demanded that the company pay for a “5G high-speed internet dongle and laptop power backup.”