64% of Hong Kong finance professionals feel job satisfaction

Ironically, they are the most pessimistic workers in the region, with 55% having a gloomy economic outlook.

eFinancialCareers, the leading global career site network for professionals working in the investment banking, asset management and securities industries, releases on Monday the results of its latest Job Satisfaction Survey that gauges the overall job satisfaction of finance professionals in Hong Kong.

The survey finds that finance professionals are overwhelmingly satisfied, with almost two thirds of respondents (64%) reporting that they are somewhat, very or extremely satisfied with their current job. However, the survey also shows that pessimism is rife among Hong Kong’s finance professionals, with over half of them (55%) taking a pessimistic outlook on the economy and 30% worrying about redundancy. 

George McFerran, Head of Asia Pacific, eFinancialCareers comments: “Recent job cuts by major banks have

sparked new fears of redundancy. This fear, coupled with increased demand for overtime as a result of cutbacks, could have a negative impact on current levels of job satisfaction.”

WORK MOTIVATORS

According to the eFinancialCareers survey, money and benefits are the most important work motivators for Hong Kong finance professionals, closely followed by opportunities for promotion. 

Although close to half of Hong Kong finance professionals (48%) are somewhat satisfied with their current salary package, a significant proportion of them (38%) are dissatisfied. Alarmingly over half of all respondents (53%) are not very or not at all satisfied with the promotion opportunities offered by their current employer.

“While compensation is always going to be one of the greatest work motivators, career development is just as important,” says Mr McFerran. “Amidst fear of redundancy and market uncertainty, firms need to recognise employees’ desire for a visible career path and better manage their expectations about salary and promotion so that there are no surprises during the performance assessment meetings.”

PESSIMISM AND FEAR OF REDUNDANCY

Despite their high degree of job satisfaction, Hong Kong professionals are the most pessimistic workers in the region, with over half of them (55%) having a gloomy outlook on the economy.

Employees may be preparing themselves for what they think will be another round of belt-tightening if the economy does not improve – with close to a third of Hong Kong finance professionals (30%) indicating that they are concerned about being made redundant. 

“While a majority of Hong Kong finance professionals are seemingly satisfied with their current job, over a third (36%) claim the opposite. Employees who feel the pressure to perform can get caught in a vicious cycle of increasing effort to meet rising expectations with little or no increase in job satisfaction. Employers should pay particular attention to their staff’s needs and concerns in order to foster employee loyalty, boost morale, and retain top performers,” says Mr McFerran.