I’m so glad we work in Hong Kong. Flicking through Malaysia's The Expat magazine, I’m not sure how we survive up here without a magazine dedicated to safeguarding our interests. It’s filled with helpful articles on striking a balance between hanging out only with expats and going completely native, special offers on wines, Langkawi’s hidden waterfalls and latest routes and airline deals. But the article on office life in Malaysia is downright scary. No one seems able to tear themselves away.
“All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy” addresses the inner workaholic that seems to afflict Malaysia’s expats, according to The expat. Too many of these poor chaps spend their whole time working, seeing more of the office than the tropical paradise on their doorstep. How does that compare with Hong Kong? Wan Chai is many things, but Lockhart Road a tropical paradise? Exotic, maybe, but tropical? Hardly. Seems they have it tougher in Malaysia. Life for expats there “can be busy,” because they “often hold responsible positions in large companies” and this pressure to deliver and entertain clients and service business partners can make life a cycle of work-sleep-work. I think Hong Kong expats have managed to get a handle on this. Thank goodness, because this is a lifestyle that you “may come to regret later, when life takes you somewhere colder and more expensive.” The latter’s not really a Hong Kong expat’s problem. Bar maybe Tokyo or Geneva, where else is more expensive?
That Friday feeling
Down in KL, Friday brings a definite feeling of “liberty in the air” we learn. I can vouch for this, having tried to contact HSBC in KL on a Friday afternoon, to be told it was Friday afternoon and the person in question was “out station” and would return on Monday. No they don’t open on Saturday. “Take advantage of the fact that many people leave early on a Friday and do the same yourself,” The Expat advices. “Your clients and contacts will not be around, so force yourself out the office early.” It will help if you make plans for your Friday evening, they advise, as that will “serve as an incentive to start the weekend early.”