Family-friendly policies are still rare in corporate Hong Kong, new survey finds
Companies are failing to support employees when it comes to their lives outside the office
Family-friendly policies are still rare in Hong Kong workplaces - and where they are available, employees appear to be under too much pressure to put their work before their children to take advantage of them, a researcher suggested yesterday.
In an Institute of Education survey of 1,005 employees, nearly half of whom were married, about 54 per cent said they were not permitted to take family leave, such as marriage leave, paternity leave, parental leave and compassionate leave.
That figure rose to 76 per cent when it zeroed in on paternity leave. Six per cent said their employers provided childcare.
While 452 of those interviewed said they did have a family-leave policy at work, only 15 per cent said they had used it in the past year.
Lina Vyas, assistant professor of the institute's Department of Asian and Policy Studies, who led the research, said: "Even for those where family-friendly practices are available, the utilisation rate is unbelievably low."
She called for the government, to make its recommended family-friendly workplace policies a legal requirement to initiate a change in the city's corporate culture.
"Only 31 per cent of those surveyed said their superiors at work understand the family responsibilities of their staff," said Vyas.
"The culture is not supportive of family-friendly practices. The employers expect staff to prioritise work over family. If they don't, they might be threatened to be fired."
Vyas added: "When the policies are not legislated, then most employers are not going to implement them."
The researcher added that such legislation would encourage more mothers to return to work at a time when Hong Kong faces a labour shortage amid an ageing population.
It may also help employers: eight out of 10 of those surveyed believed the availability of family-friendly practices in the workplace would not only make them happier but it would boost their productivity.
The survey, which was carried out between July and October last year, also found that among the 461 employees who qualified for overtime pay, only 31 per cent said they had actually been paid for working overtime in the past year.
