Around a quarter of Hong Kong employees expressed that resigning and finding a new job would be the only way to achieve greater happiness in the next six months, according to the latest Job Happiness Survey from JobsDB. This is slightly higher than the 21% who felt that a salary increase would be a positive move, and more than double the 11% who thought receiving recognition and awards was the key to happiness at work.
Slight changes to working environments were also reported to have the potential to make employees happier, for example a change in job function or responsibilities (7%), a promotion (7%), going on holiday (7%) or improving working hours (5%).
Issac Shao, Country Manager, Jobs DB explained, “With Hong Kong’s employment rate improving, our survey reveals that many employees are choosing to find new jobs as they feel unhappy about their current roles, with those in managerial roles proving to be the unhappiest group among all levels. This should be a warning shot to employers who need to understand that their employees will be quick to move away from jobs that fail to meet their expectations. We are not just talking about offering reasonable salary and benefits, employers also need to ensure that they regularly revise their management approaches.”
The survey also showed broader trends—42% of Hong Kong employees reported they were not happy in their current roles, compared with 28% feeling neutral and only 30% feeling satisfied. Additionally, Hong Kongers were pessimistic about their future happiness at work, with a majority of respondents expecting that they would feel less happy in the coming six months.
HR in Hong Kong should target perceptions about uninspiring leadership, unsatisfactory career development, and a lack of training, which were the top three factors cited for creating unhappiness. With so many Hong Kongers willing to leave, HR must step in to address these issues.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
