Working 21% more than norm is disturbing 'work-life balance': Study

HONG KONG: It's the season to be jolly, as Hongkongers are reminded the minute they step into a mall, a supermarket or a fastfood outlet. Those counting on some year-end downtime, however, are feeling a little cheated by the calendar: Boxing Day has fallen on a Saturday, so the usually two-day Christmas holiday was halved.

This is more than a petty peeve and compounds the prior feeling that there is a dearth of holidays - a sentiment that was already prevalent among the city's 3.6 million workforce.

According to a July survey by the non-profit organization Community Business, stressed-out Hong Kong workers see holidays as crucial in improving their work-life balance.

The survey of 1,013 full-time workers showed that Hongkongers put in an average of 48.4 hours a week, 21 percent higher than the 40 hours suggested by the International Labor Organisation.

When asked what would help them most in achieving work-life balance, the largest group (26.9 percent) said a 5-day work week, followed by more paid annual leave (18.8 percent).

"This is consistent with findings over the past three years," said Shalini Mahtani, founder of Community Business. The organization has been conducting the work hour survey since 2006.

How many holidays Hong Kong people are entitled to every year?

Before answering this question, two easily-confused concepts - "statutory holidays" and "general holidays" - must be explained.

The statutory holidays are governed by the Employment Ordinance and consist of 12 days: New Year's Day; the first, second and third day of the Chinese New Year; the Ching Ming Festival; Labor Day; the Tuen Ng Festival; the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (July 1); the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival; the Chung Yeung Festival, National Day (October 1) and either the Chinese Winter Solstice or Christmas Day.

The general holidays are regulated by General Holidays Ordinance and comprise 17 days, aside from all the Sundays. The 17 days are three days for Easter, one day for Buddha's Birthday and one day for Boxing Day, on top of the 12 statutory holidays.

Statutory holidays are the minimum guaranteed by law. Any employment practices trying to circumvent them are illegal.

General holidays are not protected by law. Employers follow them on a voluntary basis. Normally, public organizations, banks and education institutions take general holidays.

Statutory holidays are known as "labor holidays" or "factory holidays". Traditionally, trades including manufacturing, construction, security, transport, wholesale, retail, catering, hotels and customer service take statutory holidays only.

Besides the general holidays or statutory holidays, there are also paid leaves.

According to the Employment Ordinance, an employee will be entitled to seven days of paid leave after one year of service. The entitlement increases by one day with every additional year until it reaches the maximum 14.

Therefore, a Hong Kong worker can at least have 19 days off after having stayed with the same employer longer than one year. The maximum is 31 days.

Hong Kong doesn't do too well on the holiday ranking, according to a global comparison by UK consulting firm Mercer in October.

In Mercer's ranking of 42 economies, Hong Kong fares worse than Brazil, South Africa, Japan and South Korea. Actually, it was among the lowest-ranking holiday givers along with Taiwan, the US, Canada, India, Singapore and the mainland.

Moreover, of the seven economies, only Hong Kong and India haven't officially moved to a five-day work week.

"The least we can do is to make all general holidays statutory," said Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong legislator Wong Kwok-hing.

The vocal proponent for increasing holiday entitlement has failed in his latest motion to change the law. Opponents stressed the complexity of such a move.

"The main concern is the increase of business costs," said Wong. "But I think the business sector needs to be farsighted and look at the benefits of happier workers."

He pointed out that the difference between general and statutory holidays is a problem to many Hongkoners, especially the working class, because they have to work on days their children do not go to school.

"I hope the employers understand that if a worker spends a happy holiday with their children, they will contribute more," he said.

Mahtani also emphasized the importance of the mentality change. "Employers need to believe that work-life balance is good for business. Unless they fundamentally believe this, there will be little change," he cautioned.

(HK Edition 01/01/2010 page1)