Passion, as defined in the Oxford dictionary, is intense enthusiasm. It is quite rare to find people who are very enthusiastic these days, particularly in Hong Kong. But at the end of the day, most people want to be passionate about something. It is passion that makes you jump out of bed and get on with your day.
My passion is helping people move into the direction in their life that has meaning. Over the years, as a corporate executive, I noticed that there was a lack of passion in the workforce. In fact, studies show that in Hong Kong only 5 per cent of people love their work. I began to realise that there was a niche to help organisations and people create that sense of motivation and passion.
I find that this issue is important everywhere. However, in Hong Kong it becomes more acute because people tend to go after a job based primarily on the pay and position. The attitude here is, 'I work hard, I make money and I'm not really supposed to enjoy this work if I'm making money'. But the problem is that this attitude leads to burnout.
I would say the level of work satisfaction in Hong Kong is a little lower than in other countries. The turnover rate tends to be high, partly because people are so focused on opportunities to make more money and gain a higher position. These are important, but people also start to feel a lack of fulfilment as a result.
As we look at how to address the situation, I have found there are three major challenges in the workplace.
The first is making sure the people love doing what they are doing. This can be assessed by asking what types of tasks a person likes doing, and how much time they spend doing them. If you spend 25 to 35 per cent of your time doing those things, you are going to have a very good experience. But if it's only 5 to 10 per cent, then you are not very interested in what you're doing.
The other way to go about the assessment is to ask how many things you can get excited about, or look forward to, in your day. If people have a hard time answering, it shows they need to start focusing on that.