The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of personal characteristics namely: physical activity, smoking, drinking, and duration of computer use before taking breaks on performance at work of the "Generation Y" who employed in the Malaysian SMEs. The correlation analyses performed in order to gauge the relationship between individual characteristics and the performance of the 67 respondents who were working at the various SMEs. The key finding indicates that smoking found to have the highest effect. Therefore, this study filled the research gap pertaining to the effective management of manpower in the Malaysian SMEs.

The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of personal characteristics namely: physical activity, smoking, drinking, and duration of computer use before taking breaks on performance at work of the “Generation Y” who employed in the Malaysian SMEs. The correlation analyses performed in order to gauge the relationship between individual characteristics and the performance of the 67 respondents who were working at the various SMEs. The key finding indicates that smoking found to have the highest effect. Therefore, this study filled the research gap pertaining to the effective management of manpower in the Malaysian SMEs. Keywords: Individual characteristics; Generation Y; office workers; SMEs; job performance. eISSN 2514-7528 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/jabs.v3i10.307

The ancient practice of “jadi mali” among the indigenous Iban tribe in Sarawak is a custom and tradition birthed with the aim of attaining a marriage free from any unwanted catastrophe due to violating a taboo. This article suggests the protocols of “jadi mali” ritual as a vital intangible culture passed down from our ancestors’ knowledge to be preserved for future references. It adopts a philosophical approach of Husserlism of Transcendental Phenomenology (TPh) to qualitatively examine the issue of “jadi mali.” The affirmative lessons obtained from this ancient ritual may act as a rule for the younger Iban generation to be mindful of their courtship and to choose the right life partner in the future. The ancient ritual of “jadi mali” indicates a need for mutual respect and teaches intensive empathy about life’s details for genetic sustainability. This article contributes by providing a record for future reference on the ancient ritual of “jadi mali” among the Iban indigenous community in Sarawak. Foremost, this article is important for conserving ancestral knowledge.