Impact of Family Friendly Policies: A Panel Study in Hong Kong

As in many other industrialized societies, employees in Hong Kong face competing demands from their work and family. Long work hours and the associated problem of work-family conflict is a serious social policy issue. Despite the introduction of several family-friendly policies (such as the five-day work week, paternal leave and flexible work hours or location), the effectiveness of such policies in enhancing work attitudes and behaviours remains largely unknown, particularly in the local context. With the growing number of dual-earner couples and the increase in instances of work-life conflicts, this timely and comprehensive study examines both the effects of individual policies and the sum of several policies, and aims to distinguish between the effects of support and flexibility measures. The study investigates the effect of availability and the implementation of family-friendly policies on work-related outcomes of employees, and to examine whether a family-friendly organisation can affect the positive utilization of such benefits. In addition to focusing on the availability and utilization of family-friendly policies, the present study also tests the effect of supervisory family support on work-related outcomes. Furthermore, this study examines the relative roles of three mediators, namely, high-quality exchange relationship between respondents and their immediate supervisors, work-life conflict and perceived control over work time, in the relationship between supervisory family support and work-related outcomes. The data on work-related outcomes such as task performance are obtained from the employees and their immediate supervisors. In this proposed study, we aim to examine the effect of both formal and informal workplace family support on work-related outcomes. The findings will provide valuable information for employers in Hong Kong to decide whether formal or informal practices are more effective in fostering a work environment that is family-supportive. In addition, the findings are expected to make a significant contribution to policy debates in Hong Kong, provide concrete recommendations for restructuring the current family-related policies and the work environment and eventually, improve the work-life balance among individuals. Such developments consequently lead to an increase in the labour participation rate among female adults while facing labour shortage because of the aging population.

Funding Source: HKSAR Govt - Others^