Not me, but maybe a friend or two. Recently, a couple of people I know have expressed great interest in moving to Hong Kong to pursue a career. Both of these people say it's because they're bored here. However, both people also say that they are looking for the same line of work in Hong Kong as they are doing here. So, what's the difference?
One of them told me that he was bored of the lifestyle. His workplace is very lax; he can stroll in two hours late and his boss wouldn't care. Sounds nice for some other people, but this friend wants to be challenged. When I suggested that he change jobs, he ended up saying that it's more the people in Canada who have a very different work ethic. To a point, I agree with him.
Unfortunately, it's a stereotype, but it's one that I have found to be perpetuated by the very people it is stereotyping. Once upon a time in my university life, I went for an interview where the business was run by a Chinese family. During the whole interview, the boss talked about the difference between Chinese workers and Canadian (not exactly his term, but for the sake of political correctness, I will say Canadian instead, even though I consider myself "Canadian") workers. He said, most Chinese people work like mad, rarely complaining about their jobs or if they do they persevere. Most Canadians, on the other hand, take full advantage of sick days, family days, vacation days, etc. There's really nothing wrong with that, but according to this boss, they take sick days when they're really not that sick or vacation days because they feel like they "need a break."
At first, I was a bit miffed by what this guy was saying. But, one day I was listening to the radio and the DJs invited anyone who has played hooky to call in and lots of people called and none felt guilty for admitting that they play hooky. Obviously, I can't tell if they're "Chinese" or "Canadian" or "Chinese-Canadian," but it sounds like the "work hard, play hard" motto applies to a lot of the people here; although the term "work" is relative, "play" doesn't seem to be.
So, when I heard that my friends wanted to feel more challenged by going to Hong Kong, I'm not surprised.
1 comment:
work-life balance is (i think - having never been to HK) far more important to north americans than to chinese ppl or even ppl from outside NA. I think when we say "work hard, play hard" - we don't mean work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week - we mean, put in a good effort at work and then have fun.
as for me, i deliberately chose a work env't where i don't have to work my fingers to the bone in order to feel like i am accomplishing something. to me, having a life outside of work is far more fulfilling than being the highest paid person or the person with the most hours under her belt.
obviously i couldn't cut it in HK :)
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