The primary motivation for Hongkongers who have quit their jobs or are considering resigning is the desire to improve their work-life balance, a recent survey has found, with the proportion rising 5.9 percentage points year on year.
The annual study, commissioned by major recruitment agency Randstad, surveyed more than 170,000 people globally, including 2,599 in Hong Kong, through online interviews.
Among the Hong Kong respondents, 40 per cent were millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, and 20 per cent belonged to Generation Z, born after 1997.
According to the results, 38.3 per cent of residents said that “improving work-life balance” had been one of the motivations for quitting their jobs, up from 32.4 per cent last year.
Other top reasons cited included “pay does not meet rising cost of living”, which was picked by 27.3 per cent of respondents, while 25.2 per cent linked their departure to receiving “an offer I could not refuse”.
Benjamin Elms, managing director at Randstad Hong Kong, said the definition of work-life balance had evolved significantly over the past couple of years.
“What began as a desire to work from home has quickly expanded to include autonomy in managing priorities, having reasonable workloads, clear direction from leadership and good relationships with managers and colleagues,” Elms said.
