Last week I attended the breakfast put on by Community Business to present their survey findings around work-life balance issues in Hong Kong.

You can download the full survey report  here - and I think you will get a lot out of it if you make HR decisions for your company.

One of the best suggestions made during the morning was for businesses to study the questions asked in the survey and to find ways to get input from their own employees on the issues raised. This information will form the basis of a work-life balance initiative that makes sense for your corporate culture and values.

To give you the gist of the results – here’s my summary of the key findings:

• Most employees’ expectations of their employers’ obligations to address work-life balance issues remain unchanged, despite the economic recession.
• For Hong Kongers, the ideal work-life ratio would be 62:38.
• 30% would consider leaving their current jobs for a better work-life balance.
• Hong Kongers are working an average of 48.4 hours per week, down from 48.8 last year. This is 21% higher than the 40 hours recommended by the International Labour Organisation.
• Gen Y is more concerned with work-life balance than Gen X.
• Those making less than HK$10,000/month work the longest hours and struggle most with work-life balance.
• Financial security was rated the greatest challenge to achieving work-life balance. The 2nd greatest challenge is long working hours, 3rd is company downsizing and 4th is leader’s attitude.
• Work-life imbalance is causing prolonged fatigue, insomnia, poor diet and not enough time for partner and family.
• Employees cite a 5-day work week and more paid annual leave as the top priorities for employer intervention.
• Flexible work arrangements and the ability to work from home are also key areas for employers to address.

My response?

We have a lot of valuable data about where people’s time is going and how they want to be using it. Companies need to work out ways to measure the quality of this time, i.e. just how productive are these working hours?…and could the same output be achieved by employees who know how to work efficiently in non-traditional locations or at different times of the day/night? Could they actually get MORE done this way? Can management be tangibly assured their people are working hard even if they’re not sitting in a cubicle all day?

I say yes – The right people with the right skills and the right boss can definitely pull it off. Teams will need to learn new-fangled collaboration techniques in order to make it work, employees will need to manage their workloads effectively, and managers will need to focus on deliverables rather than seat time.

Organising Solutions is proud to be a participating organisation, and we encourage you to find ways for your company to become involved.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Download Work-Life Balance: the Guide, a practical guide for small, medium and large companies in Hong Kong.
• Attend a Workshop: Adopting a Strategic Approach to Work-Life Balance
• Get the results of this year’s survey at the Breakfast Seminar October 19: The State of Work-Life Balance in Hong Kong 2009 Survey – A Summary of Research Findings
• Sign up as a Participating Organisation by completing a simple survey to register your company’s planned activities.
• Have a look at the Work-Life Balance Day Toolkit for ideas on how to promote the day in your company.

Here’s the data you needed; now put it into practice and enjoy the benefits!

To Work Better, Try Working Less

Thanks muchly to the editor for inviting me to contribute to the column!

These articles focus on some popular Team Productivity issues.

Enjoy!

• Mapping Stimulates Creative Processes
• Efficiency is Now Top Priority for Firms
• Don’t Allow Email to Take Over Your Life

• Managing people’s expectations
• Dealing with increased levels of fear and anxiety
• Managing morale in the face of the media hype, especially for financial institutions
• Improving internal communication skills
• Keeping people motivated when they don’t know whether they’ll be around next week
• A new internal focus – ‘Back to Basics’
• Relying on internal expertise rather than external consultants
• Getting managers to lead and be decisive
• Noticing that employees are very self-focused
• Working to build confidence in leadership

My topic was Helping Your Team Accomplish More With Less.

I’ve prepared a 1-page summary which is ideal for team leaders looking for practical ways to help their people today.

Please download your copy here.

There are a few things many of us do all day, every day. They include:

• Reading and Writing
• Meeting/Talking with Others
• Managing Email
• Shuffling/Searching for Information
• Planning and Executing Projects

If you were to get faster at doing any of these things, what would you be able to focus on with the extra time? What’s that worth to you?