With employee mental health and well-being an increasing priority for organisations across Hong Kong, recent research from Qualtrics in May 2022 revealed 71% of workers in Hong Kong said their job is the main source of their mental health challenges. The Mental Health in the workplace: survey of Hong Kong employees in professional services firms, conducted by the City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA) in collaboration with Oliver Wyman in 2020 found that over one quarter of workers (27%) were suffering for mental health issues. The top three related concerns found for employees in Hong Kong were ‘fear of contracting COVID-19’ (42%), ‘lack of social activity’ (35%) and ‘job security’ (25%). Mental health is also being impacted by remote work with 22% reporting that it has had a negative impact compared to 19% who say it has had a positive one.
As employers across the globe consider, design and embrace new hybrid and remote work models, and look for ways to better support their people in uncertain and changing environments, the findings highlight the importance of understanding employee needs to successfully align the programmes being adopted with employee needs and expectations. Globally Employees want more flexibility, with 87% saying they want to be in control of their schedules and have their performance measured by results.
Hong Kong workers often spend long hours in the office and sometimes even longer hours working from home. A recent survey conducted by the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, found over 60% of respondents work an average of 44 hours a week, with 35% working 50 hours a week, and 5% working 75 hours a week. Such long working hours obviously negatively impact staff members' physical and mental health.
The shift to hybrid and more flexible work models is elevating discussions regarding how to measure employee performance in these new environments, with an increasing movement toward focusing on outcomes rather than hours worked. Employees in Hong Kong say the most impactful changes employers could introduce to improve their mental health are a four-day work week (61%), the flexibility to choose their own work hours (40%), company-wide mental health days (34%) or weeks (32%) and access to mental health resources, such as on-site counselling (21%).
The study also outlines how employees in Hong Kong define workplace flexibility. For half of the respondents, flexibility means having control of the hours they want to work. Others define it as being able to choose which days to work or having the freedom to work from anywhere. Flexibility along with a four-day work week and more paid vacation time were also highlighted as key drivers of retention. Being proactive toward understanding how employees want to work and the subsequent impact will enable employers to make informed decisions ensuring that the new ways of working align with the varied needs of the entire workforce.
Lauren Huntington, Employee Experience Solution Strategist - Southeast Asia, Qualtrics
“To meaningfully and successfully improve employee wellbeing while simultaneously navigating the shift to modern working environments, employers in Hong Kong must prioritise aligning their offerings with the individual needs and expectations of employees. The most important part of any new working model is ensuring everyone benefits from the transformations introduced. By better understanding the individual needs of employees, and the business and personal impact of the changes, employers can effectively launch new ways of working while ensuring no-one gets left behind.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
