Most of Baat Gwaa's girlfriends were out of town during the Lunar New Year holidays, and there hasn't been a peep from anyone in ages. Finally, I got a phone call from Jojo, who works for Bank of China (Hong Kong). 'Two more days!' she screams with the ear-piercing, high-pitched squeals of an excited child. Huh? Two more days of what? After taking a few deep breaths and calming down, she told me that her company would give staff two more days in annual leave from this year. The bank announced the good news to its 13,000 employees in an e-mail. The benefit will also apply to staff of other banks in the group. Way to go! Don't you love bosses who are so considerate? Most Hong Kong companies already offer many holidays. We enjoy annual public holidays totalling more than two weeks on top of the usual annual paid leave of between one and two weeks. Work-life balance seems to be all the rage these days. I read in a recent survey by non-profit Community Business that one-third of employees in Hong Kong would consider quitting their job for a better work-life balance elsewhere. Considering that we toil pretty long hours - an average of 48.4 hours per week, according to the same survey - we certainly deserve more holidays. Contact us. E-mail us the gossip in your office at watercooler@classifiedpost.com
