Purpose Foreign and local banks in Malaysia are competing in terms of skilled staff, innovative products and services, rendering quality services and customer satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to examine the overall service quality and customer satisfaction of both foreign and local banks. Design/methodology/approach The data used to test the hypothesis were collected from 748 foreign and local bank customers in Malaysia. The research model was analysed using a structural equation modelling technique. Findings Results show that knowledge and staff competencies, as well as convenience of the bank is more significant for local bank customers while bank image and internet banking are important components for foreign bank customers. The results also reveal that foreign bank customers have higher satisfaction as compared to local bank customers. Research limitations/implications No analysis is undertaken of any difference in the service quality dimensions between banks of different size. Further research on banking services could usefully test services quality dimensions across banks of different sizes. Practical implications The findings serve as a valuable reference for local banks understand service quality challenges they may face from foreign banks in this competitive industry. Findings suggest that, to provide high-quality services, financial institutions need to heighten customer satisfaction differentiation strategies. Originality/value The outcomes of this study enhance the knowledge on the performance of both local and foreign banks in Malaysia as well as customer satisfaction, which are invaluable to all bank managers and industry players in improving their services.

Traditionally, the word 'life' in the concept of work-life balance focuses on family obligations. This conceptual paper sets out to present the notion that "life" goes beyond family responsibilities and is unique to employees of different demographics. Given the impending difference in how "life" is viewed by different groups of employees, this study reviews the literature and argues for the need to distinguish between different dimensions of the non-work domain. The discussion is centered on the transformation taking place within the Malaysian workforce. Recent trends indicate that "life" and "family" are indeed distinct domains. There is a need for organizations to acknowledge this distinction and provide relevant support to attain a balance between work, life, and family. The paper will help strengthen the knowledge about the "life" in the concept of work-life balance and employers better understand the conceptualization of "life" in work-life balance so that they can strategize and enhance employee well-being and eventually gain competitive advantage. Currently, the terms work-life balance and work-family balance are used interchangeably to represent a balance between the family and work domain. This is especially evident in collectivist countries such as Malaysia. However, the emphasis on family without due consideration to the needs of employees with different demographic configurations may result in work-life backlash. Hence, this study argues that the non-work domain is not limited to family obligations and should encompass both family obligations and personal activities. The emphasis on striking a balance between work and family domain should not be done at the expense of the well-being of employees with lesser or no family obligations.

Given its knowledge centred nature, retaining key talents is essential for any IT organization. Inability to do so reflects a failure in employee-organization relationship. Since IT professionals possess unique workplace behaviours, it is presumed that they leave organizations as more committed to the profession. Thus, the study aimed to investigate the influence of professional commitment and perceived organizational support on IT professionals' turnover intention. Data was analysed using a structural equation model. A sample of 96 software engineers revealed that professional commitment negatively influences turnover intention while its effect is partially mediated by job satisfaction. Surprisingly, unlike for other employees, for IT professionals, perceived organizational support had no influence on turnover intention: instead stimulated job satisfaction. Similarly, professional commitment stimulates job satisfaction. Job satisfaction negatively influenced the turnover intention. Gender showed no moderating effect on the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention while career stage moderated the relationship. The comparison between the findings of professional commitment and perceived organizational support directs IT firms to re-visit presumptions about IT professionals and to re-assess what is meant by organizational support to IT professionals. Since gender had no effect on the job satisfaction-turnover intention relationship, both male and female IT professionals must be acknowledged for their equal professionalism in the industry. IT companies must take initiatives to retain talented early career staged IT professional who have proven to easily leave their organizations compared to others. Such efforts can be integrated to professional commitment and job satisfaction.

In 2020, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) left around 81% of the global workforce, nearly 2.7 billion workers, affected. Employment in China was the first to be hit by COVID-19. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to bring dynamism to China’s employment market in an era of long COVID-19. This study aims to examine the number of sectoral jobs that the RCEP will create in China, with the number of skilled or unskilled labour employed in each sector. The exogenous shocks to the RCEP can be reflected in the number of jobs created through multipliers based on a social accounting matrix compiled from China’s input-output tables in 2017, combined with the employment satellite accounts compiled. The results show that the RCEP is expected to create over 17 million potential jobs in China, with unskilled labour accounting for 10.44 million and skilled labour for 6.77 million. It is even expected that there will be job losses in the metalworking machinery sector. The contribution of this paper can serve as a reference for policies to protect vulnerable sectors, further open up trade markets and strengthen cooperation among RCEP members as important measures to address the employment impact of long COVID-19.

No abstract