New life in HK!

topic:  Do we really have so many things to do during worktime in HK?

After researching the information on websites and blogs, I found an interesting phenomenon: almost all the surveys focused on the work duration, while few concerned what they really did during the worktime. Actually, the work efficiency is not as high as imagined and people often stay in office till night just because their boss has not left!

story angle 1: people who leave the office on time will be considered as heterogeneousness.

• “The strangest thing about my experience in working in Hong Kong is when I do leave on-time, people who see me leaving ask: “Leaving so early?”  I’m smirking at this time and responding “No, I always leave at this time.””

             See the article: Work, Life, Balance and More Work? 

• “How to complete a full workday by noon? Sounds impossible, right? But on many days, by 12 o’clock, I have completed work that should normally take eight hours. And I don’t wake up at 4 a.m. to achieve this.”

             anther angle to observe the effectiveness during the worktime, see The 4 Hour Workday

Story angle 2: oral history: a typical day in HK

I suppose I can interview a married woman working in the Bank, for whom the work and life balance issue becomes more crucial, to see whether she feels  full or helpless.

• “Apparently this is an unhealthy way to live your working life in Hong Kong. So every second counts as shown on brisk walking citizens who read newspapers while walking or in the MTR / buses.”

             see Live to Work vs Work to Live: HK’s Work – Life Balance 

*opional angle: oral: compare the condition of work & life balance with that in Europe.

• “I’ve just moved to HK a month ago after living the last 4 years in holland, and i must say, those Europeans have got it GOOD. The pace of life is slower, more enjoyable, they know how to relax and have a good time, even at work, it’s not life or death if you dont complete something, they shut off their computers at 4:45pm, etc.”

              see the coments of  Live to Work vs Work to Live: HK’s Work – Life Balance

Story 3: what do the bosses think about the problem? Or do they consider it as “a problem”?

Choose this angle to balance the viewpoint. I plan to interview the managers from a small  business/major company or search the online information.

• See the video: CSR Asia Director – Stephen Frost in Money Magazine

              or click it to see the video inside the blog:

 Other referenced materials:

• A manager from HSBC talked about the balance issue (in Chinese, Ming Bao)
• Work-Life Balance – A Business Issue? (guidebook, pdf)
• A survey of work and life balance in HK (2008, by HKU)

Filed by Dianhua FAN at 11:21 am under Uncategorized
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