Overworked and stressed? Most Hongkongers are, survey finds

Here is the bad news: Hong Kong people work too long, too hard and for little enjoyment.

And the good news: there is none.

According to the 'Work-life Balance in Hong Kong' survey released by the University of Hong Kong and the charity Community Business yesterday, Hongkongers work an average of 55 hours a week without being paid for overtime, fail to take enough holidays, are in poor health and many want to quit.

Three out of four people are suffering from stress and a lack of exercise, while one-third say their jobs have made them depressed.

Only five people out of 1,000 polled reported they were 'very happy' with their work, compared with the 28 per cent who plan to quit in the next 12 months.

'I find that to be very disturbing,' said report co-author Richard Welford, deputy director of the university's corporate governance programme.

'If that number of people were to leave their jobs the economy of Hong Kong would grind to a halt. The business world simply would not be able to sustain that turnover.'

Dr Welford said the most staggering finding was that nearly one out of every three workers said the main reason they worked late was 'because they cannot leave before the boss'.

Most people (82 per cent) stayed late because 'they have too much work to do'.

The average annual leave was 18.7 days with most respondents saying 22.6 days would be a fair amount, the poll found.

Work-life balance refers to the benefits to the individual, business and society of allowing people to find fulfilment inside and outside work.

Those in construction, transport and financial services reported the worst work-life balance; government workers reported the best.

'But we found most multinationals and many Hong Kong companies are simply paying lip-service to better work practices,' said report co-author Shalini Mahtani, founder of Community Business.