Hong Kong staff work hard, and cope with it, survey shows
Asia-Pacific survey shows half put in more than 51 hours a week and keep their cool
Hongkongers have the longest working hours in the Asia-Pacific, but are among the best at coping with work stress, a regional survey has indicated.
More than half the 388 Hong Kong employers surveyed said their staff worked more than 51 hours a week.
More than a quarter of employers in the four places surveyed had experienced increased worker burnout.
But Hong Kong companies reported the second lowest increase, with only Australian bosses reporting less, global talent solutions company Hudson said.
In August, Hudson surveyed 6,400 employers - many of them multinational - headquartered in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
The biggest reason for long hours was a greater number of projects, with 75 per cent of respondents citing this.
But the hours were nothing new, with 64 per cent reporting their hours have stayed the same.
About 87 per cent of Australian employees work more than 40 hours a week.
The survey approached companies in the information technology, consumer, banking- finance and manufacturing- industrial sectors.
More than half of Hong Kong employers are intending to keep their headcount steady, while 40 per cent are planning to create more jobs.
Just under 5 per cent of Hong Kong bosses intend to cut jobs - the lowest in the Asia-Pacific.
"While the global economic outlook remains unsettled, Hong Kong is a good place to be," Hudson Hong Kong general manager Tony Pownall said.
He described the hiring expectations by local employers as "positive, but cautious".
Pownall also warned that "longer hours don't always equal greater productivity".
Of the surveyed industries, information technology is looking most positive with about half reporting an expected increase in their headcount in the fourth quarter. The industry with the lowest increase is banking and finance, at 27.8 per cent.
