HONG KONG: Half of Hong Kong workers will consider quitting their jobs if employers ask them to spend more time in the office instead of offering flexible arrangements, a survey by a major recruitment agency has found.
Randstad Hong Kong revealed on Monday that 51% of the 751 Hong Kong employees and jobseekers responding to a global survey wanted the choice to work from home and would threaten to resign if that condition was not met.
This figure was 14 percentage points higher than the global average, with 37% of respondents deeming work-from-home arrangements as "non-negotiable". A higher proportion of older Hong Kongers prioritised work-life balance than younger ones.
The survey sampled 27,000 respondents aged 18 to 67 from more than 30 countries across Europe, North America, South America and Asia between October and November last year, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that turned hybrid work into a global culture.
Working from remote locations, including from home, became a widespread practice during the three years of the pandemic amid social-distancing measures.
"Flexibility should be understood in its entirety and complexity, and not just where and when employees are working. Rather, employers can explore offering greater autonomy to let people choose what's best for them based on their professional desires and personal needs," Randstad Hong Kong managing director Benjamin Elms said.
"By offering this kind of trust, companies can attract top employees who feel like they are part of a team that shares the same values."
Randstad's survey found that 42% of respondents worked for companies that "expected them to be in the office more", but a similar proportion said they would reject employers that lacked flexibility and were too rigid.
Older employees prioritised non-restrictive work models more than their younger counterparts, with half of baby boomers saying the choice to work from home was "non-negotiable", compared with a fifth of millennials and a third of Gen Zers.
The survey, which looked at the gap between employees' expectations and their actual experience, also showed that other factors for creating a more friendly workplace, such as gender equality in salaries, a diverse workforce and family leave, were of near-equal importance to respondents.
Two in three Hong Kongers believed the responsibility of improving workplace conditions lay with employers, with the top priority being family leave for all employees, followed by equality in gender pay.
The survey also showed that two in five jobseekers would reject a job if the hirer's position on social and environmental issues did not align with their values.
Randstad said the results showed a need for employers to understand that workers had different expectations, and that there was no "one-size-fits-all solution" that would help companies retain talent.