Hong Kong, 14 May 2012 – More business people in Hong Kong say their work/life balance has improved, according to the latest Regus Work-Life Balance Index which was released today. Despite working harder than ever before, people are enjoying their jobs more, and the majority feel that they have enough time to spend at home or on personal pursuits.

The Index calibrates job satisfaction indicators and respondents' views on their overall work/life balance with measurable data including working hours and commuting time. It surveyed 16,000 professionals in more than 80 countries. It registered a six per cent rise in positive work/life balance in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2012, contrasting with a global rise of 24% in the same period.

Some of the key findings of the Index are:

·          Hong Kong currently has an Index score of 117,  below the global average of 124

·          Well over half (72%) of Hong Kong's workers enjoy work more than they used to. Sixty-five per cent are satisfied with the amount of time they spend at home or on personal pursuits

·          The vast majority of workers (79%) say they achieve more at work than in 2010 – confirming the connection between productivity and a good work/life balance

·          Almost half (46%) of respondents say that businesses have tried to shorten employee commuting times, acknowledging the benefits of avoiding a lengthy journey to work as far as possible

"While it is great to see this research demonstrating improvements, we believe that companies in Hong Kong can still do more," said Robin Bishop, Chief Operating Officer for Community Business, an NGO that advocates on CSR issues in Asia. "There is strong evidence that the long working hours which are commonplace in Hong Kong are resulting in a culture of presenteeism for some organisations – employees being present but mentally and/or physically unwell and therefore not working to their full capability. This is adversely affecting these companies' bottom line. Organisations could overcome this by giving employees greater control over when, where and how they work through adopting formal and informal flexible working arrangements. In doing so, these companies will see improvements in productivity and in their ability to attract and retain staff, ultimately benefitting their bottom line."

"Our Work/Life Balance Index has generated an encouraging finding: workers believe their work/life balances are improving," said Hans Leijten, Regus' Regional Director for East Asia. "After the initial market free-fall prior to 2010, it is not surprising that workers report feeling happier now. Today, there are fewer worries about job security and recent Regus research confirms that global business confidence is stabilising. Even more importantly, the survey also confirms that happier employees are also more productive employees – a genuine win-win situation for employers and employees.

"This welcome trend can be further reinforced by adopting flexible working practices such as allowing workers to travel out of peak time, to work from locations closer to home or to spend more time with their families. There is no doubt that empowering workers to work their way is an increasingly important way for employers to promote their employees' productivity and well-being," he added.

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The Regus Work-Life Balance Index

The survey canvassed the opinions of over 16,000 business professionals in more than 80 countries from the Regus global contacts database. The Regus global contacts database of over 1 million business-people worldwide is highly representative of senior managers and owners in business across the globe. Respondents were asked about their working hours, satisfaction with the amount of time spent at home or with family along with their views on whether there had been improvements in their overall work-life balance. The Index calibrates this data and is benchmarked against a base point set at 100 in 2010. The survey was managed and administered by the independent organisation, MindMetre, www.mindmetre.com

About Regus

Regus is the world's largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world's largest network of video communication studios. Regus enables people to work their way, whether it's from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.

Over 1,000,000 customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,200 locations in 550 cities and 95 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information please visit: www.regus.com

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