2012
Occasional Paper
Society and Demographic Transition › Marriage and Family
劉玉琼、馬麗莊、尹寶珊、賴樂嫣。（2012）。《香港全職人士的工作與家庭平衡》。香港：研究專論第224號，香港中文大學香港亞太研究所。Lau, Y. K., Ma, J. L. C., Wan, P. S., & Lai, L. Y. (2012). The Work-family balance of Hong Kong full-time workers. Hong Kong: Occasional Paper No. 224, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. (In Chinese)
Hong Kong Work-family Balance
在香港，有關工作與家庭互動的研究大部分聚焦於工作與家庭之間的衝突，工作與家庭互動的另一重要面向 — 工作與家庭之間的互相促進，雖然在西方愈來愈受重視，在香港卻備受忽略。為填補有關的知識空隙，我們進行了一項隨機抽樣的電話調查，以探討香港全職人士的工作與家庭之間互相衝突和互相促進的情況，以及上述互動在個人及家庭層面的影響。
根據調查所得，時間運用取得平衡對全職人士相當重要，工作時間愈長、休息時間愈少，工作與家庭衝突的程度愈高。相對而言，婦女經歷更多的工作與家庭衝突；年長人士面對的工作與家庭衝突偏低，亦最能感受到工作與家庭的互相促進；中等家庭收入人士的工作與家庭促進程度亦高於低收入者。迴歸分析的結果顯示，工作與家庭間互相衝突和互相促進這兩種互動關係對個人及家庭的功能，各有不同的影響，工作與家庭衝突對家庭閒暇活動滿意度、個人精神健康，以及家庭功能都有負面影響，而工作與家庭的互相促進卻有助提升家庭閒暇活動滿意度、個人精神健康，以及家庭功能。
政府有需要為市民制訂對家庭友善的工作政策，以減輕工作與家庭間的衝突；同時要加強教育，以推動全家一起分擔家庭事務的文化，使夫妻能平均分工，子女也多些協助處理家務，減輕父母的負擔；長遠亦要透過教育系統，推廣更彈性的性別角色觀念。僱主也要為僱員營造有利身心發展的工作環境，提供清晰的職位發展前景和階梯，這對年青一代而言，尤為重要。
Past research on the work-family interface in Hong Kong has focused on the issue of work-family conflict. Despite growing attention on the positive dimension of the work-family interface in the West, the mutual facilitation between work and family has been overlooked in local studies. In view of this gap in the field, a random sample telephone survey was conducted to explore the work-family conflict and work-family facilitation of Hong Kong full-time workers, and their impact at the individual and family levels.
The results showed that balance in the use of time was important. Longer working hours and shorter resting times were associated with a higher level of work-family conflict. Women faced more serious work-family conflict than men, and those who were older experienced less work-family conflict and more work-family facilitation. The level of work-family facilitation for middle-income families was higher than for low-income families. A regression analysis revealed the differential effects of work-family conflict and work-family facilitation on individual well-being and family functioning. Work-family conflict exerted a negative effect on satisfaction with family leisure activities, individual mental health, and family functioning. In contrast, work-family facilitation contributed to a higher level of satisfaction with family leisure activities, and better individual mental health and family functioning.
There is a need for the government to enforce a family-friendly policy in the workplace. A culture of sharing domestic work among family members should also be encouraged, including the equal sharing of domestic work between husband and wife, and the sharing of household chores by the children. In the long run, more flexible gender roles should be promoted through public education. Employers should create a working environment that is more conducive to the development of employees. A clear career development process and career path are particularly important to the younger generation.