Hong Kong, Singapore among worst at offering flexible work schedules, study finds
Poll of 13 jurisdictions by consultancy Unispace puts two cities behind global average, suggests adjustable start times as partial solution
Employers in Hong Kong and Singapore are among the worst at providing flexible schedules to staff, a study of 13 jurisdictions by a global design consultancy has found, citing the impact of high rent.
The introduction of more flexible schedules was also one of the top workplace changes that Hong Kong employees wanted to see soon, with adaptable start times suggested as a possible solution for companies.
Consultancy Unispace polled 8,000 employees and 2,700 business leaders in 13 locations including the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Malaysia between May 11 and 23. In Hong Kong, 500 workers and 100 employers were surveyed.
Qiu Jianhan, Unispace’s principal for strategy in Asia, said both Hong Kong and Singapore lagged behind other jurisdictions in terms of providing flexible work schedules mainly because of the high cost of real estate.
“The main cause is higher rent in these regions,” he said. “If I am an organisation that is spending so much in terms of real estate cost, the key measure that I turn to is utilisation. Therefore, many such companies, if they are spending so much on real estate, they want to utilise it to the maximum per cent.”
The study found 36 per cent of employers in Hong Kong offered flexible work schedules while the figure for Singapore was 36.4 per cent. The global average stood at 48 per cent. The arrangements include measures such as flexible start times.
The study also found that Hongkongers ranked flexible schedules as one of the top changes they wanted in the next five years, with 41 per cent of local respondents selecting this option.
