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ONE in three Malaysian care workers plans to leave their current position within the next five years, raising alarm bells over a potential care crisis as the country moves towards an ageing population, according to a new report by the RE:CARE Project.
The report, titled “Towards a Resilient Care Workforce: Lessons from Covid-19 in Malaysia”, found that care workers across healthcare, childcare, social work and domestic sectors continue to face long hours, emotional strain and deteriorating wellbeing since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic, one in three care workers in Malaysia worked over 70 hours per week. Post-pandemic, care workers spend an average of 52.6 hours per week on paid care work,” the report said.
On top of their professional duties, many care workers also shoulder unpaid household care. “For women in households with high care demands, this can require on average up to 40 hours per week,” the study noted.
The RE:CARE Project surveyed 1,221 Malaysian care workers and found that 75.7% reported a decline in their overall wellbeing during the pandemic, with two-thirds yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. More than half continue to experience moderate to severe levels of burnout.
“Wellbeing was measured through four aspects: satisfaction with physical and mental health, job satisfaction, work-life balance, and support for unpaid care work,” the report said. “The long hours of the profession, coupled with personal care responsibilities, have a combined impact on wellbeing.”
The study also underscored the gendered nature of Malaysia’s care economy, noting that the workforce remains highly feminised and that women are disproportionately affected by the pressures of paid and unpaid care work.
“The report exposes the gendered impact of the crisis on Malaysia’s highly feminised care workforce, and recommends equitable and gender-responsive policies to ensure a more resilient care workforce and infrastructure,” the authors said.
“We urge policymakers to urgently adopt more equitable and gender-responsive policies to address care workforce retention, ensuring the resilience of the care workforce and infrastructure for effective response to future crises.”
The RE:CARE study was conducted using mixed methods, involving 1,534 survey respondents, 144 focus group participants and 20 policy-linked stakeholders nationwide. Participants included doctors, nurses, social workers, hospital cleaners, institutional care providers and migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines.
The full report and policy recommendations will be officially launched later this month. - November 2, 2025
