3 in 5 employees in Hong Kong looking for higher salaries when switching jobs

Lack of career progression is another motivation for job hunting.

Job seekers in Hong Kong have nominated better salary or benefit packages as the main reason why they wish to switch jobs in 2017. Work-life balance was the number one reason why employees in Hong Kong will stay with their current employer, according to the newly released 2017 Hays Asia Salary Guide.

The annual Hays Asia Salary Guide reveals the results of candidates and employers surveyed from across mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. The Guide also provides salary ranges for more than 1,200 roles based on research from 3,000 employers representing six million employees.

According to the tenth annual Guide, 34 per cent of candidates across all countries are actively looking for a new job while 46 per cent are open to new opportunities.

In addition to seeking better salary or benefit packages (64 per cent) compared to 65 per cent last year, the other key motivators for job hunting in Hong Kong are:

• Lack of career progression (45 per cent)
• The management style & company culture (41 per cent)
• Seeking new challenges (33 per cent)
• Poor work-life balance (23 per cent)
• Concerns about job security (22 per cent)
• Work location (19 per cent)
• Lack of training or development opportunities (16 per cent)
• Other (7 per cent)

On a country level, salary or benefit package was the main reason why job seekers are looking to switch jobs in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore whilst in Japan, a desire to seek new challenges was the main reason why job seekers are currently looking to switch jobs.

Key reasons candidates in Hong Kong want to stay with their current employer are:

• Work-life balance (41 per cent)
• Salary or benefit package (34 per cent)
• Career progression (31 per cent)
• Job security (28 per cent)
• Work location (24 per cent)
• Training or development opportunities (20 per cent)
• The management style & company culture (18 per cent)
• New challenges (17 per cent)
• Other (3 per cent)