Varia Ranah - Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam

90 Varia Ranah: Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam employers. Whatever reasons, FWA must not be viewed sceptically as FWA can be an option to a situation such as what the world is facing today i.e. COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the economic conditions, environmental factors and availability of smarter technology, ‘work from home’ options are quickly gaining popularity (Timsal & Awais, 2016). This is further supported by the figures from International Data Corporation (IDC) which identified mobile worker population in the United States will grow at a steady rate over the next five years, increasing from 96.2 million in 2015 to 105.4 million in 2020. It is expected that by 2020, the mobile workforce will constitute 72.3% of the total workforce (International Data Centre, 2015). While FWA might have its advantages for its implementation, nevertheless, there are views not favourable of FWA. For instance, Marissa Mayer CEO of Yahoo had banned work from home in 2013 on the basis that for Yahoo to be the best place of work it is important for employees’ physical presence at the office as communication and collaboration is of essence (The Guardian, 2013). The position of Yahoo suggests that implementation of FWA is seen as defying the traditional working environment which has an allocated working time, physical office existence as well as to a certain extent a clear structure of command. Based on the two (2) scenarios of FWA and traditional working environment is that the former operates in more personal or private space and the latter operates in a formal space. Along with the formal space exist formal control as well as a clear chain of command i.e. superior-subordinate relationship. Hence, what is missing between FWA and the traditional working environment is the element of official control over the working environment. At the same time, in FWA the most important element that will govern the implementation of FWA is trust. Trust is crucial for the success of FWA as it involves human relations between superiors and subordinates as well as relations among peers. Geetha (2011) argued that the biggest challenge for employers in Malaysia in