Work-life integration the new workplace norm, with work increasingly becoming on-demand and on-the go
Hong Kong, May 10, 2016 – ‘Work-life balance’ has been named the most important factor for job satisfaction by working professionals in the Asia Pacific, according to the Microsoft Asia New World of Work Survey.
78% of Asia Pacific respondents and 75% of Hong Kong respondents indicated that work-life balance was important to their jobs. In Greater China, more respondents from Taiwan (79%) take work-life balance most seriously and accorded it as an important job aspect than their counterparts in the Asia Pacific.
In addition, ‘Be productive on own terms’ (74%) and ‘Work with collaborative teams’ (71%) are also important factors for job satisfaction among working professionals in Asia Pacific.
| How important the following aspects of your job are to you? | AP | HK | Mainland China | Taiwan | Singapore | |
| 1 | Work-life Balance | 77.82% | 74.75% | 71.00% | 79.25% | 79.00% |
| 2 | Be productive on own terms | 73.84% | 66.00% | 67.75% | 66.50% | 68.50% |
| 3 | Work with collaborative teams | 71.34% | 67.00% | 73.00% | 71.25% | 68.00% |
| 4 | Be able to work flexibly on own terms | 70.16% | 62.50% | 61.50% | 66.00% | 71.50% |
| 5 | Be more agile in meeting customer needs | 67.96% | 55.00% | 72.50% | 63.00% | 69.25% |
(Source: Microsoft, 2015)
However, the survey found that eight in 10 working professionals in the Asia Pacific group are expected to be contactable outside of work. In Mainland China, the situation is even less favorable with nine in 10 Mainland China working professionals expected to be contactable outside of work; while only 7 in 10 working professionals in Hong Kong and Taiwan are expected to do so. Seven in 10 working professionals in the Asia Pacific group are expected to respond to colleagues and team mates in less than four hours.
(Source: Microsoft, 2015)
The survey also revealed that working professionals are not well-equipped to be responsive in their work, with only 37% of respondents in Asia Pacific indicating that they were. Hong Kong lags far behind its counterparts in the Asia Pacific, with only 16% of respondents in agreement that they were well-equipped.
(Source: Microsoft, 2015)
“The war for talent is fierce in the Asia Pacific region, especially in Hong Kong. With work becoming increasingly on-demand and on-the-go, an organization that equips its employees with relevant tools, both hardware and software, as well as supports varied work lifestyles of its employees, will win the war and have employees who integrate work with life,” said Horace Chow, General Manager at Microsoft Hong Kong. “With technology enabling mobility and instant connectivity, the notion of integrating work into life and vice versa seems to be the new norm moving forward.”
The Microsoft Asia New World of Work Study was conducted in September 2015 with 5,000 respondents working in small and medium enterprises with fewer than 250 employees, and employees working in larger organizations with more than 250 employees in 13 Asian markets including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Jocelyn Cheung
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Dora Zhang
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Raymond Woo
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