Your Ultimate Guide to 2023 Malaysia Public Holidays: Plan Ahead!

Another new year has come, and with it, another fresh start. As we prepare to face new challenges and new opportunities, it is also time to plan our annual leaves for Malaysia public holidays in 2023. Part of setting goals for the year is also identifying the days in which you will take time off in advance.

Work should be seen as a scenic journey rather than a sprint. There should be pit stops and maybe even spontaneous detours along the way to make the journey all the more fulfilling. So, it is vital to make the most out of your annual leaves and Malaysia public holidays in 2023.

Why you should take leave

The way we work is always changing, and now, we are always “on” when it comes to working. To prevent burnout, we need to take the occasional day off and spend our days unplugged from our devices. Use the time to bond with loved ones or catch up with friends. Go on a short trip. Or simply just rest.

Taking breaks can help you be more productive in the long run. Research by Harvard Business Review revealed that vacations and time off that are planned in advance are more likely to have a good return on investment when it comes to your energy and outlook when you return to work. In short: you come back to your job more revitalised.

If you’re already planning your goals and projects for 2023, why not include your vacation days too? This helps you identify if you can use vacation days to help you achieve your goals and plan when you can tackle your personal projects. You can also use these days to schedule rest and relaxation.

How many leaves do you have?

First things first! Do you know how many paid leaves you have each year? Each company has its own guidelines when it comes to annual leaves, but as a general rule, Malaysian Labour Law prescribes a set number of leaves depending on your tenure in the company. If you’re unsure of how many leaves you have, check in with HR to confirm.

By law, if you’re working in the company for two years or less, you get eight days of leave per year. If you’ve been with a company for at least five years, you get 12 days. Employees working for over five years in a company are entitled to 16 days.

(Read more: Fresh Graduates Should Know These 4 Malaysia Labour Law Facts )

These are just the standard amount of leave credits you have, as the law requires. However, your company may give you more depending on its policy. For instance, your company may allow a number of leaves to carry over from year to year if unused. Just be sure to ask your supervisor or HR about your leave credits for 2023 and coordinate with them properly when filing your leaves.

Know your Malaysia public holidays in 2023

There are a total of 10 national public holidays in Malaysia. In addition, there are also state-level holidays that your company might observe. According to the Employment Act, employees are entitled to a total of 11 gazetted public holidays.

Some of the most important national public holidays that you should keep an eye on are Malaysian Independence Day, Hari Raya, Labour Day, Federal Territory Day, Chinese New Year, Wesak Day, and Agong’s Birthday.

Build your own “Wellness Windows”

Taking a break from work is ultimately beneficial to your overall mental health. It enables you to refresh your mind and “recharge your batteries,” so to speak, to keep you energised throughout the year. To maximise your opportunities for rest, you should file some of your leaves on dates that are next to public holidays and weekends. We can call them your “wellness windows”.

Open your calendar and check which public holidays are next to weekends, and file your leaves in the dates between them. For example, Wesak Day and Hari Raya Haji both fall on a Thursday. File your leave for the Friday after, and you get a four-day weekend! Or you can make it a longer vacation since Labour Day and Wesak Day happen in the same week. We list down the Malaysia public holidays in 2023, and the possible long weekends you can enjoy.

Remember to coordinate with your teammates and your boss when planning for leaves because they might be doing the same thing. No one likes heavily understaffed teams, and it’s good to have teams be prepared. Be ready to compromise with your colleagues as to who will take which dates off. Plus, when you are all aware of each other’s planned leaves, you can avoid calling colleagues for work concerns while they are away.

What will you do on rest days?

This is the exciting part! Now that you’ve mapped out your leaves, you can plan what to do with them. You can plan a quick trip to a neighbouring country or work on your personal projects. Been meaning to declutter a part of your home? You can use one day to tackle your cleaning. Want to spend time visiting family or friends who don’t live near you? Spend the long weekend with them. You can go local and take a drive or short plane ride to another city to relax and enjoy some local treats.

(Read more: 8 Relaxing Short Getaways in Malaysia Without Spending Your Leaves )

Or just do nothing. Sleep, enjoy a good meal, take long walks, or meditate and reflect. After all, rest is also productive.

Whatever you do: do not think of work

We all spend our days off in our own unique ways, but ideally, what we should all avoid doing is thinking about work. The purpose of leaves is to give our minds a chance to recuperate. Like all muscles, our brains get tired, too. We need to give them rest so they can get stronger. Think of it as a reward for working hard.

Take your foot off the gas pedal by immersing yourself in non-work-related things. Pursuing a new hobby can be a great way to relieve stress, as it gives you other things to sink your teeth into. You can also explore other things like movies, art, exercise, or just the simple act of meeting up with friends and family.

Work-life balance is important, especially in the last few years, which have been filled with uncertainty. When you are on leave, do not feel guilty about unplugging. Do not even take a peek at your inbox. Just let go of your grip and take comfort in the knowledge that you earned this free time with all your hard work.

What you can do: bond with your co-workers

The pandemic offered us very few chances to interact face-to-face. 2023 could offer us a chance to make up for the lost time by spending some of our days off with our co-workers, especially the ones we have not seen in person for so long. It could be as simple as a lunch or dinner, or it could be as immersive as a team-building trip to a resort.

This could be a chance to get to know your co-workers more outside of work. You can learn what they have been up to the last few years, and you can even share personal methods of coping during difficult times. Having a tight bond with co-workers is essential for harmony and good teamwork. By recharging together, you can take care of your mental health while also creating better and deeper work relationships at the same.

2023 should not only be about work. Taking a break is also important and should not be overlooked. The better we plan our annual leaves, the more exciting the year ahead becomes. It will be filled not only with our professional goals but with all our personal aspirations as well.

Make the most out of your paid time off and #SEEKBetter work now! Update your profile at JobStreet and find the work that aligns with your passion and purpose.

For more expert tips and advice on work-life balance and wellness at work, check out our Career Resources Hub.