How Many Hongkongers Considered Quitting For Better Work-Life Balance? Numbers Might Shock You

World’s largest talent company, Randstad, has dropped the 2023 Employer Brand Research report, showcasing views of over 163,000 survey respondents across 32 markets, including 2,750 individuals based in Hong Kong SAR.

According to Benjamin Elms, Managing Director at Randstad Hong Kong, after three uncommon years, the changes to today’s economy and labour markets have added new dimensions to worker priorities and expectations.

While employment and compensation are still extremely valuable, companies providing employees a positive experience and making them feel good have started receiving increasing importance as well, he added.

Read on for key talent insights – expected to help companies up their game in talent attraction and retention.

• 42% of Hongkongers said they have resigned or considered quitting to improve their work-life balance.
• 28% of respondents said they would leave their current employer for a higher salary in order to better deal with the rising cost of living.

Top Five Reasons That Would Motivate An Employee To Quit

42% of survey respondents cited ‘for better work-life balance’, followed by 28% giving ‘low compensation and rising cost of living’ as the reason, with 28% citing ‘lack of career growth opportunities’, 24% citing ‘received an offer I could not refuse’, and 23% citing ‘lack of interest in my job’.

Job Switching Appetite

Nearly 31% of respondents revealed their intention to change jobs in 2023, with millennials aged 25 to 34 years being the most likely generation to make the move and Gen Zers aged 18 to 24 years being the least likely.

Jobs switching activities have started returning to pre-pandemic levels (2019: 25%) as 22% of Hongkongers said they changed jobs between July and December last year.

Greater Support For Better Work-life Balance

Despite high expectations for better work-life balance, the report suggested companies are making improvements. Interestingly, the year-on-year gap between employees’ expectations and what employers can offer in terms of work-life balance has dropped by three points.

Growing Need For Non-monetary Benefits

69% of survey respondents said non-monetary benefits, defined as initiatives not involving direct financial compensation, are important when searching for a new company.

Considering the top 5 non-monetary benefits, 87% of respondents said ‘good relationship with my colleagues’ stood out as the most important factor, followed by 87% citing ‘good relationship with my managers’, 85% citing ‘convenient location’, 85% citing ‘flexible work arrangement’, and 84% citing ‘more autonomy to perform in my role’.

An increasing number of employees value upskilling and reskilling opportunities to shield their employment from fluctuations.