TNAG-0647-FCO40-795-Study-of-labour-relations-in-Hong-Kong-by-Professor-H-A-Turn-1977 — Page 147

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important and a smaller number, just over 60, considered good prospects

for getting ahead and convenient hours of work important. Generous

holidays were only considered important by less than half of the

respondents while a strong trade union and, despite the propositions of

writers such as England and Rear, the presence of relatives and clansmen

at a person's workplace were considered to be important by only very few

respondents.

2

The respondents were also asked which two aspects were the more important.

Sixty-six of the respondents in fact considered a good income to be one

of the two most important items in job choice; considerably less

frequently chosen by the respondents were good prospects for getting

ahead (36) and a high level of security (28)3. The emphasis on income

found here in the survey appears to be typical of Hong Kong workers and

4 has been noted by Mitchell, Chaney, Carr and Ward.

There was little variation within the sample with regard to those aspects

rated as more important by the sample in general. Roughly the same

proportions of younger men, older men, younger women and older women in

the sample rated good income, high level of security, good working

conditions and a just employer as more important; the same held for

skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled respondents and for respondents in

large and small firms. The only job aspect where there was any variation

between the different groups was good welfare benefits where older

women and respondents in small firms were less likely to rate it as more

important.

Respondents' Job Satisfaction

The respondents seemed on the whole to be moderately well satisfied with

those aspects of the job they considered more important. Thus 84%

considered their income to be good or average, 84% considered the

security of their job to be good or average, 91% considered their

working conditions to be good or average and 96% considered their

employer to be good or average. With the regard to the last, the survey

showed that the impartiality of their employer was the aspect of their

jobs that the respondents were most satisfied with, 63 rating it as

"good". A slightly smaller proportion of the respondents, 67 considered

the welfare benefits they received to be "good" or "average". Very few

of the respondents considered their trade union organization and the

number of relatives at their workplace to be satisfactory but since the

respondents attached little or no importance to these aspects of the