Deirdre Lander, director of data, surveys and technology at Towers Watson, warned that the dangers of disengagement are two-fold. Provided to China Daily

Hong Kong, by all metrics, is a wealthy city. But survey shows white collar workers feel disenfranchised, so can a disillusioned work force sustain the city's prosperity? Daniel Pordes explores.

Taking in the spectacle of Hong Kong's gleaming skyscrapered facade, the observer cannot help but remark, that the city, surely is among the most attractive places in the world to work.

Work visas are being issued at an all-time high, affluence is increasing, and ever more companies and brands are popping up around the central financial district. Overseas investment here is growing fast.

It's all looking pretty good, even amid Europe's economic travail that has caused some slowdown in Hong Kong's GDP. But the numbers are still positive. The University of Hong Kong's Macroeconomic Forecast for 2012 released in April upgraded January's prediction on real GDP growth from 3 percent to 4 percent. The recovering US market, China's continued growth and a positive first quarter all contributed to the slightly more optimistic outlook.

Then in June, came the SAR government's InvestHK figures, showing increased FDI (foreign direct investment) growth in the first half of 2012, up 5.6 percent over last year. Business is booming.

That's the rosy side of the picture. Ask the average white collar worker how he's doing and you hear a different story. The average white collar worker is not happy. He is complaining of stress, disengagement from his job, long hours, unpaid overtime, lack of challenge, lack of career advancement, all combining to paint a bleak picture of disenfranchisement and disenchantment.

"I had to work 12 hours a day, six days a week. From 10 am to 10 pm," Jamie Chu, 26, said of the sales job he quit after just six months. "That's the norm in Hong Kong," Chu added. He couldn't stand the long work days that went hand in hand with an utter lack of stimulation.

Chu works in the toy industry, now. Things are a little better. He still faces a 9-hour work day and frequently is expected to put in 1-2 hours of unpaid overtime.

Chu feels resigned putting in after-hours unpaid work. It's ingrained in the city's working culture, he says.

"Overtime? I always work overtime, unpaid. I also need to pay for my overtime meals and taxi fares," answered Miss Lam, who asked that her first name be witheld.

Lam works as a senior associate in one of the big four accounting firms. It "sounds fancy but it is actually a junior post," she says. For the past four years, she's been averaging 50-60 hours a week on the job.

"Actually, I'm a little lazy. The average working hours here should be 70-80 hours a week," Lam said. "Some of my colleagues work seven days a week, 10 hours a day and even come back to the office during their annual leave."

Lam doesn't like the 12-hour grind. She's tried to find another job with fewer hours but the pay is also much less, so she endures.

Despite the workload, Lam's counterparts overseas receive greater rewards: people in the Sydney office doing the same work as her, are paid three times her salary. The only way to scale higher in Hong Kong, she said, is through the tiny window of annual promotion.

"It's really stressful. We don't receive much support at work. On top of that there is intense competition every day among peers for the few promotions available at the year's end."

As Hong Kong attempts to maintain its role as the West's broker to the mainland, it continues to push at its increasingly strained work force. According to the University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme released in May, two in five white-collar workers said they had faced "enormous stress" over the previous month.

The Regus Report released in November 2011 highlighted Hong Kong as the location with the longest working hours. Roughly 57 percent of Hong Kong workers put in nine or more hours a day. That compares with the 32 percent on the mainland; 50 percent in Singapore; 47 percent in Japan and 48 percent globally.

Hans Leijten, Regus' regional vice-president, East Asia commented on the report, saying: "The long-term effects of this over-work could be damaging to both workers' health and to overall productivity as workers drive themselves too hard and become disaffected, depressed or even physically ill."

The counter argument to Leijten's criticism of Hong Kong's work hard play hard lifestyle is that if things are so bad, and the working conditions are so poor, how come profits are up, productivity is high and businesses continue to boom?

Enter the concept of sustainability of Hong Kong's work force.

A new Global Workforce Study by professional services company Towers Watson that claimed to reflect the sustainability of Hong Kong's work force was released on August 9.

The report specifically examines sustainable engagement in 29 markets, taking into account employees' willingness to go the extra mile for their companies; having the tools, resources and support to accomplish the tasks, and a wholesome working environment in which to do it.

The survey revealed a contrast between work force sustainability in Hong Kong, as compared to the rest of the world, that must be described as abysmal. Only 19 percent of the 1,000 white-collar workers surveyed, could be classed as "fully-engaged", according to the survey's criteria. This compared to the global average of 35 percent.

Deirdre Lander, director of data, surveys and technology at Towers Watson Hong Kong, warned that the dangers of disengagement are two-fold. For employer, lack of engaged workers means a loss of productivity and increased business costs. Employees pat a toll in personal stress and illness.

Roughly 57 percent of Hong Kong workers put in nine or more hours a day. That compares to the 32 percent on the mainland; 50 percent in Singapore; 47 percent in Japan and 48 percent globally. Provided to China Daily

Lander added that the report's findings regarding the engagement of workers in various age groups, suggested worker detachment was deteriorating, rather than improving.

"Hong Kong will find an increasingly disengaged workforce. The baby-boomers were the most engaged group, with Generation X less so and Generation Y even less," Lander said. "Every year Hong Kong companies are demanding more and more growth, higher turnover and expecting more from their workforce, without providing anything in return and so the engagement levels weaken. It is simply not sustainable."

"I definitely agree," Caesar Chung said after being told of the report's findings during our interview. The 30-year-old recruitment consultant, who returned to his birthplace six months ago, described feeling amazed at the contrast between Hong Kong and Canada where he has lived for the past 15 years.

"I was incredibly surprised after I moved back and realised the difference between North America and her [Hong Kong]. There is a definite lack of willingness among employees here to go that extra mile, no sense of belonging."

Chung works for an executive recruitment company after spending several years in the same industry in Vancouver, Chung contends businesses in the West, simply know how to treat their staff better.

"They make you feel more a part of the team: there are initiation parties, learning lunches, birthday celebrations. My former employers back home organised things like dragon-boat competitions, charity runs, garbage clean ups, stuff like that to give back to the community - it's meaningful and makes everyone feel good about their own company."

"I could say a ton of good things and why working there is a good idea. Could I say the same thing about Hong Kong? Doubtful."

According to Stuart Bailey, managing director of Diversified Events Hong Kong, creating engagement is not simply about putting on social events but actively involving employees in how their business operates and not treating them like "drones working from 8 am to 8 pm".

"Yesterday we went to a hotel and held a strategy day, where we all discussed what went well and went badly at our last event," Bailey said. "Everyone was given a voice, everyone had a say in the company. We're trying to give our staff more freedom and make employees feel included in decision making."

Increased involvement of workers does contribute to higher profits, says the 36-year-old Englishman, who employs a staff of 21 local workers.

"If someone comes up with a really great idea, and we make money, that gives them a real buzz."

Despite the wealth of data critical of the current system of employee interaction in Hong Kong, some surveys show results that are contradictory to the findings of Towers Watson.

In May, the Hong Kong Happiness-at-work Index carried out jointly by the Promoting Happiness Index Foundation and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) under the auspices of Hong Kong's Lingnan University put forth a different story.

Presenting itself as a reference for local enterprises, the debut survey said that 63.9 percent of respondents felt happy at work.

Ho Lok-sang, professor of economics and director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies of Lingnan University, who carried out the survey, said the report is based on the LIFE model that relates overall happiness to love, insight, fortitude, and engagement. These metrics are described as revealing the "mental capital" in an individual.

The survey looks at Hong Kong well-being of staff in the workplace (Corporate Love), the work-life balance (Corporate Insight), a company's response to adverse times, (Corporate Fortitude), and the company's ability to engage its staff (Corporate Engagement), factors said to promote happiness among workers.

Commenting on his findings, Ho said, "The average score of happiness-at-work for Hong Kong businesses is 6.7 (the maximum being 10), which is slightly above average when compared with similar surveys in other international cities."

However, the findings of the Hong Kong Happiness-at-work Index are exceptional. By contrast, the United Nations Conference on Happiness released in April ranked Hong Kong in 57th place, far below Singapore (33rd), Japan (44th) and just ahead of South Korea (56th place). The Ericsson Consumer Lab May 2012 report measuring worker satisfaction has Hong Kong down at the bottom with a rating of 28 percent below the global average of 48 percent, and behind Asian cities Mumbai (68 percent), Tokyo (53 percent) and Beijing (39 percent).

Presented with the Towers Watson findings that deal more directly with engagement, Ho was particularly skeptical about the superior figures of engagement found on the mainland (53 percent).

"It is hard for me to imagine that workers on the mainland have a stronger sense of engagement than workers in Hong Kong," Ho said.

According to Lander, the reason for the large difference in the finding, reflects the greater potential for the mainland as an emerging economy.

"It's the land of opportunity," Lander said. "With a different trajectory in modernization and huge movement toward urbanization, many workers are taking on their first white collar roles - it's exciting times for them and offers fantastic prospects."

Hong Kong employers should take note.

Benny Lee, a senior IT engineer in Hong Kong, works nine hours a day and often has to work overnight without compensation - the familiar sound of rueful acceptance, "it's unavoidable". What really bothers him is that he has been asking his boss for a more stimulating role for over a year. He's had no satisfaction.

"He will say, 'if a chance comes, I will give it to you', but I understand that it's a meaningless statement," Lee said. "The job is not challenging, I don't feel involved and so I lack the motivation to improve myself."

With a lack of opportunity to grow or feel engaged at the company where he has worked since 2006, Lee, like many of his white collar peers, is looking to different horizons.

"The project size is huge on the mainland, while the environment may be different for me, I'm sure it's a place where I can broaden my scope and learn new things," Lee said.

"I would go tomorrow if I were offered a job there."

(HK Edition 08/16/2012 page4)