Hong Kong is well known for its intense and pressurising work conditions. Now a survey on the finance, accounting and human resources sectors in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand has added weight to this reputation. Many employees would stay in contact and continue working through their supposedly ‘leisure’ times, while many employers expect the employees to be reachable outside normal working hours.
The hard-working ethic is no doubt a cornerstone of Hong Kong’s economic success, and working long hours and being constantly in touch with colleagues or bosses are facts of life when there are deadlines to meet. But when Hong Kong employers become over-reliant on placing exigent demands on employees all the time, one has to wonder if they have overlooked other important factors in lifting workplace performance and business competitiveness, such as improving efficiencies in certain processes or the overall workflow.
There are many other effects of such demanding workloads. The employers have conveniently forgotten that their employees have a life outside work. In fact, the time outside work may not be a leisure after all but is filled with work of other kinds such as housework and family matters. When Hong Kong’s news talk about how much more the lowest-paid would earn with the introduction of minimum wages, the calculations are based on working 10-hour days for 26 days out of a month. I can’t help to wonder if those people actually have enough time to tend to their household, let alone to have adequate rest.
Work is not only about being occupied all the time. The time set aside for reviewing what has been done and planning ahead is equally important if not more important, such as in my field of scientific research. Even when the employees are outside work, many would undoubtedly still think of work at some stage, and such a time can be really valuable.
It is not uncommon to hear in Hong Kong’s news that hospital or university staff lose USB sticks containing patients’ or students’ personal particulars on their way home. There were two such cases in the last week alone. It does not matter how stringent the workplace guidelines are or how severe the disciplinary action would be, and even if Hong Kong people would become as meticulous as the Japanese or as precautious as the Germans overnight, these incidences would continue to happen as long as the staff have to carry such data home. There should be no compelling reason to do so as the privacy of personal information is paramount, unless the staff have no choice, such as when they have excessive workload or are under pressure from their bosses.
An Australian friend whom I knew from my lab in Munich and who subsequently found a job in a technology firm in Switzerland once told me that the firm would not allow its employees to stay at the workplace beyond work hours and check work e-mail outside work. One may wonder why that firm has gone to such extreme of being staff-friendly; the firm is in fact more concerned that sensitive or secret information may be leaked if the staff are allowed to work outside supervision, but this has an obvious side benefit to the staff as well.
Hong Kong employees deserve proper breaks free of work. I wish that they have one during the Easter holidays or are properly compensated in lieu if they still have to work!
趁放假寫一個「應節」的話題。
昨日《明報》有兩則新聞，看似互不相干，實則一脈相承。
瑪麗遺失病童資料USB
港老闆多要求隨時候命 亞太4區調查
今日又有報導謂，大學職員遺失載有學生資料的USB。員工在下班途中遺失USB已屢見不鮮，那怕工作場所的指引有多嚴謹、處分有多嚴厲，就算香港人一夜間變得像日本人般細心或德國人般謹慎，也是徒然，問題徵結是為何要把大量個人資料帶離工作場所，唯一的理由，就是回家後仍要工作，可是個人資料的隱私至為重要，若非必要也不應帶走，是不是員工工作量太大或應上司要求趕工？
有調查發現香港金融、會計及人力資源行業的員工「下班後」和「放假時」普遍要繼績工作隨時候命，雖然其他行業的情況如何我可不清楚，卻足以反映不少打工仔的工作壓力。有分析說「隨時候命及願長時間工作，原是本港競爭力所在，不能說是錯」，但香港企業是否太倚重透過員工長時間工作換取競爭力，而忽略提升工作效率或改善工作流程？工作趕急時，下班後仍要聯絡員工的確無可厚非，但太濫的話，則是漠視員工的公餘生活，員工往往都有家室，就算下班後不用做上班的事情，也會有家務、家事和其他的工作操心。（所以我看新聞為低層員工計算最低工資實行後的月薪，是以每日工作10小時、每月26天為準，我也替他們辛苦，那些人可能連處理家中大小事也不一定夠時間，何來會休息得好？）再者下班後有時也會回想上班的事情和部署翌日的工作（例如我便會這樣做），抽空檢討和規劃工作，實在是工作重要的一環，亦有助增加工作效率，不是時時刻刻忙過不停才算是工作、對工作有貢獻。
我在德國的實驗室認識到的一個澳洲人，後來到瑞士某科技公司工作，該公司規定員工在辦公時間後不可留在辦公室，下班後也不准查看電郵，你也會問為何有如此優差，其實公司是不想機密和敏感資料在工作時間外洩漏，但員工也因此受惠，公司和員工都雙贏。
祝願香港打工仔，這幾天不用上班的可擱下工作，好好休息，仍要上班的則獲得應有的補償。
The hard-working ethic is no doubt a cornerstone of Hong Kong’s economic success, and working long hours and being constantly in touch with colleagues or bosses are facts of life when there are deadlines to meet. But when Hong Kong employers become over-reliant on placing exigent demands on employees all the time, one has to wonder if they have overlooked other important factors in lifting workplace performance and business competitiveness, such as improving efficiencies in certain processes or the overall workflow.
There are many other effects of such demanding workloads. The employers have conveniently forgotten that their employees have a life outside work. In fact, the time outside work may not be a leisure after all but is filled with work of other kinds such as housework and family matters. When Hong Kong’s news talk about how much more the lowest-paid would earn with the introduction of minimum wages, the calculations are based on working 10-hour days for 26 days out of a month. I can’t help to wonder if those people actually have enough time to tend to their household, let alone to have adequate rest.
Work is not only about being occupied all the time. The time set aside for reviewing what has been done and planning ahead is equally important if not more important, such as in my field of scientific research. Even when the employees are outside work, many would undoubtedly still think of work at some stage, and such a time can be really valuable.
It is not uncommon to hear in Hong Kong’s news that hospital or university staff lose USB sticks containing patients’ or students’ personal particulars on their way home. There were two such cases in the last week alone. It does not matter how stringent the workplace guidelines are or how severe the disciplinary action would be, and even if Hong Kong people would become as meticulous as the Japanese or as precautious as the Germans overnight, these incidences would continue to happen as long as the staff have to carry such data home. There should be no compelling reason to do so as the privacy of personal information is paramount, unless the staff have no choice, such as when they have excessive workload or are under pressure from their bosses.
An Australian friend whom I knew from my lab in Munich and who subsequently found a job in a technology firm in Switzerland once told me that the firm would not allow its employees to stay at the workplace beyond work hours and check work e-mail outside work. One may wonder why that firm has gone to such extreme of being staff-friendly; the firm is in fact more concerned that sensitive or secret information may be leaked if the staff are allowed to work outside supervision, but this has an obvious side benefit to the staff as well.
Hong Kong employees deserve proper breaks free of work. I wish that they have one during the Easter holidays or are properly compensated in lieu if they still have to work!
趁放假寫一個「應節」的話題。
昨日《明報》有兩則新聞，看似互不相干，實則一脈相承。
瑪麗遺失病童資料USB
港老闆多要求隨時候命 亞太4區調查
今日又有報導謂，大學職員遺失載有學生資料的USB。員工在下班途中遺失USB已屢見不鮮，那怕工作場所的指引有多嚴謹、處分有多嚴厲，就算香港人一夜間變得像日本人般細心或德國人般謹慎，也是徒然，問題徵結是為何要把大量個人資料帶離工作場所，唯一的理由，就是回家後仍要工作，可是個人資料的隱私至為重要，若非必要也不應帶走，是不是員工工作量太大或應上司要求趕工？
有調查發現香港金融、會計及人力資源行業的員工「下班後」和「放假時」普遍要繼績工作隨時候命，雖然其他行業的情況如何我可不清楚，卻足以反映不少打工仔的工作壓力。有分析說「隨時候命及願長時間工作，原是本港競爭力所在，不能說是錯」，但香港企業是否太倚重透過員工長時間工作換取競爭力，而忽略提升工作效率或改善工作流程？工作趕急時，下班後仍要聯絡員工的確無可厚非，但太濫的話，則是漠視員工的公餘生活，員工往往都有家室，就算下班後不用做上班的事情，也會有家務、家事和其他的工作操心。（所以我看新聞為低層員工計算最低工資實行後的月薪，是以每日工作10小時、每月26天為準，我也替他們辛苦，那些人可能連處理家中大小事也不一定夠時間，何來會休息得好？）再者下班後有時也會回想上班的事情和部署翌日的工作（例如我便會這樣做），抽空檢討和規劃工作，實在是工作重要的一環，亦有助增加工作效率，不是時時刻刻忙過不停才算是工作、對工作有貢獻。
我在德國的實驗室認識到的一個澳洲人，後來到瑞士某科技公司工作，該公司規定員工在辦公時間後不可留在辦公室，下班後也不准查看電郵，你也會問為何有如此優差，其實公司是不想機密和敏感資料在工作時間外洩漏，但員工也因此受惠，公司和員工都雙贏。
祝願香港打工仔，這幾天不用上班的可擱下工作，好好休息，仍要上班的則獲得應有的補償。
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