This study aimed to examine the association between working hours and anxiety of a working popula... more This study aimed to examine the association between working hours and anxiety of a working population in Hong Kong. We used a cross sectional data from a population-based household survey of Hong Kong Chinese adults. Key measures included employment status, skill level, working hours, length of stay at current job and anxiety level. Symptoms of anxiety were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The data were analysed using logistic regression. Chinese adults who had long working hours (≥ 72 h per week) had higher odds of developing symptoms of anxiety than those who worked for ≤ 36 h per week (odds ratio [OR] 5.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.82-19.41). Compared with short period (< 1 year), long period of stay at current job (≥ 5 years) was found as a protective factor from anxiety (OR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20-0.73). We found that a working period of 72 h per week was a significant threshold to cause anxiety to workers. Stable job arrangement was a protective factor to workers from anxiety. Implementation of labour market regulations, such as standard working hour policy and stable job arrangement, was also significant to mitigate risk of anxiety for working people in Hong Kong.
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 2021
Purpose-Retirement protection has been widely debated in Hong Kong over two decades. The debate a... more Purpose-Retirement protection has been widely debated in Hong Kong over two decades. The debate about the relationship between social insecurity and retirement protection, and provoked consideration of a choice between a rights-based universal retirement system and means-tested protection for senior citizens are still contested. This study aims to explore the understanding and behaviours of young workers regarding retirement planning, their difficulties and worries with the implementation of providing support for their parents' retirement. Design/methodology/approach-This was an exploratory study to target young workers aged 20-34 years to participate. Qualitative data presented in this study were drawn from 16 young workers. Seven were female and nine were male young workers. Findings-The research found that young workers who have a relatively low level of income, particularly for non-standard workers and the self-employed, both are likely to find difficulties to contribute to their own retirement planning and their parents' retirement with the emerging problems of job insecurity and instability. Young working people in lower socio-classes have further limited choices and control over their own retirement planning, as well as providing support for their parents' retirement that may cause a breach of intergenerational contract. Originality/value-With the increasing number of young workers with precarious employment or unemployment, this study has contributed to a shift in views regarding intergenerational contracts, particularly in the need to support other generations of family members in a contemporary Hong Kong society.
Informed by moral economy theories, this article presents a qualitative study of the normative co... more Informed by moral economy theories, this article presents a qualitative study of the normative construction of and contestation over a new in-work benefit in Hong Kong, the Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA). Using a policy stakeholder approach to examining the public’s ideas and justifications of LIFA, the findings reveal the eligibility-defined entitlement shared by claimants, scepticism towards long working hours conditionality required by LIFA, complex understanding of deservingness and self-reliance, and dissatisfaction with the closing gap between welfare and wages. This article connects moral economy theories to the normative basis of a social security system, offering insights for capturing the dynamics of consensus and controversies about social welfare. It also extends the research on morality and social welfare from Western countries to an Asian context. The case of Hong Kong evidences how policy stakeholders make moral sense of a new welfare in the absence of soc...
This study aims to enrich the comprehension of the effect of living density on anxiety and stress... more This study aims to enrich the comprehension of the effect of living density on anxiety and stress among adults in a global city. A random sample of 1,978 Hong Kong adults was interviewed in a cross‐sectional population study in 2014–2015. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were used to investigate the association between housing variables and mental health indicators, namely, anxiety and stress. Logistic regression analysis results have shown that by controlling the confounding effect of demographic variables, income poverty, housing ownership and housing cost, the living density was significantly associated with anxiety and stress of residents. Compared with those living in high density of &lt;7 m2, living in medium density of ≥7 and &lt;13 m2 was significantly associated with lower risk of anxiety (adjusted OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.30–0.88), and the risk was less for those living in low density of ≥13 m2 (adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23–0.72). Meanwhile, living in low density of ≥13 m2 was significantly associated with a lower risk of stress (adjusted OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20–0.97). These results highlighted the significant impact of living density on personal anxiety and stress. Moreover, female, younger adults or those living in income poverty were also at risk of anxiety and stress. In conclusion, our findings implied that improving housing policies, such as building public housing with adequate living areas and market regulation of living density of private housing, would help enhance the mental well‐being of residents.
Using two random sampling surveys from Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, this study aims to compa... more Using two random sampling surveys from Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, this study aims to compare the poverty stigma, perceived living standards and subjective well-being of welfare and non-welfare recipients in the two regions. The results show that means-tested welfare recipients generally experience high levels of stigma and negative affect. Path analysis models reveal that the direct impact of such stigma on negative affect is significant in Mainland China. However, in Hong Kong SAR, the impact of stigma on negative affect is indirect, through social interaction and self-rated health.
This article applies the concepts of the financial-subject and micro-foundation of financialisati... more This article applies the concepts of the financial-subject and micro-foundation of financialisation to young workers’ experiences with Hong Kong’s financialised pension regime. The results of our qualitative analysis show that many respondents doubt and belittle their financial investment for retirement. In response to the compulsory investment required by the government and the fact that their aspirations for security in later life seemed unfulfilled, some young workers undertook ‘uninformed’ investment and ‘age-led’ risk taking. The findings also show that employment precarity translates into investment precarity owing to workers’ unstable incomes and contributions; labour inequalities are reflected in financial inequalities. Arguably, the neoliberal crafting of the young financial-subject, including constructions of financial irresponsibility, irrationality, and illiteracy, is fraught with tensions, turning workers into investors and using finance to satisfy socio-economic needs. It contributes to social policy studies by connecting selfhood and institutions, and calls for questions about the future of financialised pensions.
Informed by autonomist perspectives on precarious work and labour subjectivity, this article disc... more Informed by autonomist perspectives on precarious work and labour subjectivity, this article discusses the dynamics between autonomy and job precarity. Based on purposive sampling, the qualitative findings, drawn from interviews with precarious workers aged 18–29 years in Hong Kong, reveal tensions among four types of aspirations. First, the desire for achieving freedom and individual ambition in work made the respondents critical of the notion of employment-related stability. Second, a determination to break with mainstream career paths empowered young people to take alternative pathways to new modes of work and life. Third, precarious employment was seen as a stepping stone for realising plans for travel or study. Finally, tolerance of precarity was perceived as a transitional stage in their striving for future stability. However, the findings also show the structured dilemmas experienced by young workers regarding the complex relationship between autonomy and precarity in a neoliberal labour market. Some young workers pursued work–life autonomy, constrained by precarious employment relations, acknowledging and bearing the costs, while some strategically used precarity in individual negotiations with employers to realise their goals. This article analyses young workers’ subjectivity through the lenses of autonomy and age and pushes the boundary of precarity studies beyond an implicit dichotomy between determinism and voluntarism.
With an emphasis placed on supply‐side interventions such as skills training and incentives enhan... more With an emphasis placed on supply‐side interventions such as skills training and incentives enhancement, active labor market polices (ALMPs) are strongly promoted by international organizations and widely adopted across different welfare regimes to boost employment rates. This article first presents the under‐examined relationship between ALMPs and employment precariousness, which has posed a challenge to the neoliberal notion of employability and activa
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chu... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government between 2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime. Findings – The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition. Research limitations/implications – This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses. Originality/value – The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.
This study aimed to examine the association between working hours and anxiety of a working popula... more This study aimed to examine the association between working hours and anxiety of a working population in Hong Kong. We used a cross sectional data from a population-based household survey of Hong Kong Chinese adults. Key measures included employment status, skill level, working hours, length of stay at current job and anxiety level. Symptoms of anxiety were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The data were analysed using logistic regression. Chinese adults who had long working hours (≥ 72 h per week) had higher odds of developing symptoms of anxiety than those who worked for ≤ 36 h per week (odds ratio [OR] 5.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.82-19.41). Compared with short period (< 1 year), long period of stay at current job (≥ 5 years) was found as a protective factor from anxiety (OR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20-0.73). We found that a working period of 72 h per week was a significant threshold to cause anxiety to workers. Stable job arrangement was a protective factor to workers from anxiety. Implementation of labour market regulations, such as standard working hour policy and stable job arrangement, was also significant to mitigate risk of anxiety for working people in Hong Kong.
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 2021
Purpose-Retirement protection has been widely debated in Hong Kong over two decades. The debate a... more Purpose-Retirement protection has been widely debated in Hong Kong over two decades. The debate about the relationship between social insecurity and retirement protection, and provoked consideration of a choice between a rights-based universal retirement system and means-tested protection for senior citizens are still contested. This study aims to explore the understanding and behaviours of young workers regarding retirement planning, their difficulties and worries with the implementation of providing support for their parents' retirement. Design/methodology/approach-This was an exploratory study to target young workers aged 20-34 years to participate. Qualitative data presented in this study were drawn from 16 young workers. Seven were female and nine were male young workers. Findings-The research found that young workers who have a relatively low level of income, particularly for non-standard workers and the self-employed, both are likely to find difficulties to contribute to their own retirement planning and their parents' retirement with the emerging problems of job insecurity and instability. Young working people in lower socio-classes have further limited choices and control over their own retirement planning, as well as providing support for their parents' retirement that may cause a breach of intergenerational contract. Originality/value-With the increasing number of young workers with precarious employment or unemployment, this study has contributed to a shift in views regarding intergenerational contracts, particularly in the need to support other generations of family members in a contemporary Hong Kong society.
Informed by moral economy theories, this article presents a qualitative study of the normative co... more Informed by moral economy theories, this article presents a qualitative study of the normative construction of and contestation over a new in-work benefit in Hong Kong, the Low-income Working Family Allowance (LIFA). Using a policy stakeholder approach to examining the public’s ideas and justifications of LIFA, the findings reveal the eligibility-defined entitlement shared by claimants, scepticism towards long working hours conditionality required by LIFA, complex understanding of deservingness and self-reliance, and dissatisfaction with the closing gap between welfare and wages. This article connects moral economy theories to the normative basis of a social security system, offering insights for capturing the dynamics of consensus and controversies about social welfare. It also extends the research on morality and social welfare from Western countries to an Asian context. The case of Hong Kong evidences how policy stakeholders make moral sense of a new welfare in the absence of soc...
This study aims to enrich the comprehension of the effect of living density on anxiety and stress... more This study aims to enrich the comprehension of the effect of living density on anxiety and stress among adults in a global city. A random sample of 1,978 Hong Kong adults was interviewed in a cross‐sectional population study in 2014–2015. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were used to investigate the association between housing variables and mental health indicators, namely, anxiety and stress. Logistic regression analysis results have shown that by controlling the confounding effect of demographic variables, income poverty, housing ownership and housing cost, the living density was significantly associated with anxiety and stress of residents. Compared with those living in high density of &lt;7 m2, living in medium density of ≥7 and &lt;13 m2 was significantly associated with lower risk of anxiety (adjusted OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.30–0.88), and the risk was less for those living in low density of ≥13 m2 (adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23–0.72). Meanwhile, living in low density of ≥13 m2 was significantly associated with a lower risk of stress (adjusted OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20–0.97). These results highlighted the significant impact of living density on personal anxiety and stress. Moreover, female, younger adults or those living in income poverty were also at risk of anxiety and stress. In conclusion, our findings implied that improving housing policies, such as building public housing with adequate living areas and market regulation of living density of private housing, would help enhance the mental well‐being of residents.
Using two random sampling surveys from Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, this study aims to compa... more Using two random sampling surveys from Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR, this study aims to compare the poverty stigma, perceived living standards and subjective well-being of welfare and non-welfare recipients in the two regions. The results show that means-tested welfare recipients generally experience high levels of stigma and negative affect. Path analysis models reveal that the direct impact of such stigma on negative affect is significant in Mainland China. However, in Hong Kong SAR, the impact of stigma on negative affect is indirect, through social interaction and self-rated health.
This article applies the concepts of the financial-subject and micro-foundation of financialisati... more This article applies the concepts of the financial-subject and micro-foundation of financialisation to young workers’ experiences with Hong Kong’s financialised pension regime. The results of our qualitative analysis show that many respondents doubt and belittle their financial investment for retirement. In response to the compulsory investment required by the government and the fact that their aspirations for security in later life seemed unfulfilled, some young workers undertook ‘uninformed’ investment and ‘age-led’ risk taking. The findings also show that employment precarity translates into investment precarity owing to workers’ unstable incomes and contributions; labour inequalities are reflected in financial inequalities. Arguably, the neoliberal crafting of the young financial-subject, including constructions of financial irresponsibility, irrationality, and illiteracy, is fraught with tensions, turning workers into investors and using finance to satisfy socio-economic needs. It contributes to social policy studies by connecting selfhood and institutions, and calls for questions about the future of financialised pensions.
Informed by autonomist perspectives on precarious work and labour subjectivity, this article disc... more Informed by autonomist perspectives on precarious work and labour subjectivity, this article discusses the dynamics between autonomy and job precarity. Based on purposive sampling, the qualitative findings, drawn from interviews with precarious workers aged 18–29 years in Hong Kong, reveal tensions among four types of aspirations. First, the desire for achieving freedom and individual ambition in work made the respondents critical of the notion of employment-related stability. Second, a determination to break with mainstream career paths empowered young people to take alternative pathways to new modes of work and life. Third, precarious employment was seen as a stepping stone for realising plans for travel or study. Finally, tolerance of precarity was perceived as a transitional stage in their striving for future stability. However, the findings also show the structured dilemmas experienced by young workers regarding the complex relationship between autonomy and precarity in a neoliberal labour market. Some young workers pursued work–life autonomy, constrained by precarious employment relations, acknowledging and bearing the costs, while some strategically used precarity in individual negotiations with employers to realise their goals. This article analyses young workers’ subjectivity through the lenses of autonomy and age and pushes the boundary of precarity studies beyond an implicit dichotomy between determinism and voluntarism.
With an emphasis placed on supply‐side interventions such as skills training and incentives enhan... more With an emphasis placed on supply‐side interventions such as skills training and incentives enhancement, active labor market polices (ALMPs) are strongly promoted by international organizations and widely adopted across different welfare regimes to boost employment rates. This article first presents the under‐examined relationship between ALMPs and employment precariousness, which has posed a challenge to the neoliberal notion of employability and activa
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chu... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the youth narratives of Mr Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government between 2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach – Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime. Findings – The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition. Research limitations/implications – This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses. Originality/value – The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.
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Papers by Tat Chor Au-Yeung
2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach – Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the
then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime.
Findings – The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition.
Research limitations/implications – This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses.
Originality/value – The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.
2012 and 2017, which steered the directions of youth policies in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach – Informed by the ideational school of institutionalism, a qualitative documentary study was conducted to analyse the policy addresses, speeches, and blog posts delivered by the
then CE, which were all available on the website of the HKSAR government. It was through a thematic analysis of the database that themes and sub-themes were generated for the discussion. Representative verbatim quotes are used for illustrating some of the youth policy ideas and discourses promoted under the Leung’s regime.
Findings – The findings suggest that the governing youth narratives could be categorised into two interrelated themes: behavioural patriotism and economic opportunism. The notions of youth development constructed in the narratives of Leung shape the definition of youth-related problems and solutions in relation to national identity and global competition.
Research limitations/implications – This study focusses on the previous term of HKSAR Government that cannot fully reveal the extent of policy continuities and changes. Yet, it could outline the overall picture and address the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s current youth policies viewed from both normative and cognitive perspectives. Methodological and analytical implications can be drawn for further studies on policy ideas and discourses.
Originality/value – The paper has two major contributions; the first of which is the illustration of an analytical framework connecting contents, tools, and justification of policies for capturing the dynamics and complexities of youth policies. Second, the findings of this study develop a critical understanding of neoliberal youth policies in both economic and moral senses that pose new challenges to young people and policy makers.