{
  "id": 3168701,
  "title": "When work gives you oranges: What Malaysian employees really want from technology",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/when-work-gives-you-oranges-what-malaysian-employees-really-want-from",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-25T02:30:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/when-work-gives-you-oranges-what-malaysian-employees-really-want-from-technology-20260821/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Malaysia’s workforce is rapidly embracing artificial intelligence, with 93% of employees leveraging generative AI at work. Yet, despite the speed of adoption, a disconnect has emerged as two-thirds (68%) of employees report an increased workload. This suggests that while AI saves time, it is often being spent on more tasks rather than leading to productivity gains. A survey of 506 office workers in Kuala Lumpur highlighted manual work (41.1%), complicated systems (29.8%), lack of visibility (16.2%), and managing multiple tools (12.8%) as the top frustrations. The issue lies not in the technology adoption but in the lack of workflow redesign. Malaysian businesses have embraced cloud platforms, collaboration apps, and digital payment systems, but introducing new tools without streamlining processes leaves workflows stagnant. While AI can speed up individual tasks, real productivity gains depend on reducing manual steps between tasks and systems. Businesses must prioritize automating routine approvals, centralising project visibility, and ensuring seamless updates across platforms. The future of work in Malaysia will not be measured by the number of tools implemented, but by how smoothly those tools integrate to simplify daily work processes.",
  "summary": "Malaysia’s workforce is embracing AI faster than many organisations are changing the way work gets done. According to EY’s Why workers matter in Malaysia’s AI era report, 93 per cent of Malaysian employees are using generative AI at work, with 81 per cent reporting significant time savings and 76 per cent citing improved work productivity. […] The post When work gives you oranges: What Malaysian…",
  "key_points": [
    "93% of Malaysian employees use generative AI at work.",
    "68% report increased workload despite AI adoption.",
    "Workflow redesign needed to improve productivity."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Malaysian businesses' failure to redesign workflows around new technology means most employees are not seeing productivity gains despite rapid AI adoption and increasing workloads.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}