Prof Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC, wrote in his column in am730 today (31 October 2018) about the findings of the recently released Hong Kong Mental Health Index 2018.

Based on the World Health Organization’s Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), the annual survey sampled 1,007 Cantonese-speaking indiviudals aged 15 or above in Hong Kong this year. On average, Hongkongers only scored 50.2 out of 100 on the index, slightly below 52 which is generally taken as an acceptable score. What is more, respondents who are currently employed scored significantly lower than their non-working counterparts, with nearly one-third agreeing that their work life has a fairly or extremely negative effect on their well-being. Manual workers fared particularly poorly, registering an average score of 43.33.

“The results of the study are alarming, but unfortunately hardly surprising,” wrote Prof Chan. “Hong Kong prides itself on being a competitive and thriving economy, and yet we seem to remain deprived of happiness, peace of mind, or simply a good night’s sleep. Without doubt, a lot of the pressure comes from work – over 60% of the respondents reported working more than eight hours a day, the standard working time recommended by the International Labour Organization.”

Prof Chan continued, “While striking the perfect work-life balance is easier said than done, one possible way out lies in incentivising businesses to build a family-friendly workplace. Indeed, we at the EOC have always advocated the adoption of family-friendly policies, such as allowing flexi-hours or work-from-home and extending maternity and paternity benefits to part-time workers. We will defintiely continue with our corporate training and advocacy work while further dismantling taboos around mental health through public education. After all, we all deserve to be happy and well.”

• Read Prof Chan’s article