Working late is a culture in Hong Kong...

Hong Kong is a modern westernized city on the surface, but it can be surprisingly difficult to adjust to the unspoken cultural norms of many workplaces.

For example, working late is often accepted as normal and workers are not strongly focused on leaving the office at a particular time. People see the requirement for long hours at work as a sign of their importance, and they use their office spaces as second homes where they often have more privacy and comfort than at home. They don't have the Western habit of escaping the office as quickly as possible. Consequently, they may not see the same urgency to reduce workloads and improve efficiency. They're more compliant to 'busy work' as they're happy to fill the time and it makes them feel recognized.

At work, the phrases you often hear from your work-partners are :

1. I know you are very very very busy too...
2. You should be very very very busy, but I am sorry to call you...
3. It is nice to see (or to talk to) you again, you should be very very very busy nowadays...
4. You tell me when you get a little less busy, we can have lunch together around the corner...

During a recent cocktail reception, I met a work-partner and her assistant (Event Managers). The first thing the assistant tells me that they are very very very busy and especially her boss (she says it in front of her boss). I, very innocently, say - oh, poor you, what event are you working on ? - The immediate answer from the assistant was - oh, we are working on quotes for autumn projects. I understood what was going on (the assistant is trying to make her boss happy by saying that her boss is very very very busy). To claim that you are very very very busy, even if you are not, is a part of the culture here.

In august 2007, a journalist friend of mine made a documentary film for Pearl TV of Hong Kong on this topic (see the youtube below). Some excerpts, which I totally agree :

• On an average, Hong Kong people work 50hrs/week and 65hrs/week in the Financial field
• 75% suffer from stress, 45% from exhaustion, 33% from depression or 28% just take sick leave to recover massive long hours
• Working late doesn't mean that they are very productive
• People tend to think (or rather should I say 'believe strongly') that the longer you stay at work the more efficient you are
• The Spaniard in this film tells us that it is just the contrary in Spain, where people will think that you are not competent enough if you work late.

According to an expert in this video, they are mostly on msn or skype or facebook or go out for a snack or for a smoke during the day. And then they realize that work has to be finished and they stay extra-hours. And then, they start complaining that they are very busy, have so many things to do, they don't have a private life, they are so dedicated to their work and the company. How far is this true ? When I told my Chinese friends that I am tempted to believe this story, some shamelessly admitted and some just couldn't stop defending and counter-attack the western culture. I realized later that, the ones who admitted had lived abroad and the ones who counter-attacked feel more Chinese and blame the western world for seeing China (including Hong Kong) with a bad eye.

I am not saying that in Hong Kong there is no reason to be busy. But being "busy" (very very very) the whole year is a little odd ? I know in certain job fields the peak season is almost the whole year. But if the vast majority of one population says the same thing and pretends on doing something...then I think it is a part of a culture and hence, I personally believe that "working late in Hong Kong is a culture".

No offense or no judging is intended by this post. With all due respects (as the Americans love to say in their movies and series), hey people from Hong Kong, please take some time for yourself and live your life and not for your work.

PS:

1. The Basic Law of Hong Kong says that an enterprise is obliged is give minimum 7 paid holidays to its employees. In my observation, most of the companies give 10 days per year (excluding the public holidays).
2. In France, the French enjoy a 35hrs/week system (which is a political debate currently as the President Sarkozy wants to relax it a bit, well actually he had already done it) and to top it all, the French enjoy a 25 yearly paid holidays excluding the public holidays.