Work-life conflict: Hong Kong graduates say they prioritise happiness over career goals

“I want to be a slacker for a while first before working full-time,” said Kwok, a 22-year-old graduate of the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU).

“Working full time is exhausting. My friends have lost some of their freedom because they can’t travel as much as they would like.”

The image design and digital art graduate added that it was common for people working in renowned design agencies to work overtime until the early hours of the morning and continue working the next day.

Kwok, who asked to be identified only by her middle name, said she plans to take “more relaxing” part-time jobs, such as receptionist or administrative staff.

The number of births in the city in 2002, the year when most of Hong Kong’s university graduates in 2024 were born, was 48,209.

Government statistics from 2020 showed that 15,642 people were offered first-year places on publicly funded or self-funded undergraduate courses.

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Hong Kong’s post-Covid graduates look to the future while reminiscing about student life

Hong Kong’s post-Covid graduates look to the future while reminiscing about student life

Jessica Ng, 22, a graduate of HKMU in creative media and advertising, said she was “very worried” about not being able to land a job.

She said she planned to act quickly because of fears that “most of the positions would be filled” due to fierce competition.

She added that despite a monthly salary request of HKD18,000 (US$2,304), most employers she met said they could only offer HKD16,000.

Ng admitted she was “very anxious” about working full-time, after discovering some friends had to work past midnight.

“I hope to have a work-life balance,” she said. “I don’t want to get lost in work.”

“For me, the meaning of life is not to make money. I would like to make money to make myself happy.”

The phrase refers to a phenomenon that has emerged in China in recent years, as some young people reject a career-centric life and focus on personal development.

Wong said she would build up a travel fund by working part-time.

“I think most young people born after 2000 are afraid of being wage slaves and don’t want to be terrified by that idea,” she explained.

“I want to do more of what I love now, when I have time.”

Wong added that she did not want to give up her free time to work and pointed out that people working in the design field might still need to work during the holidays.

She said she also aims to save more than HKD100,000, but is not sure whether her salary will reach HKD17,000 per month.

The University Grants Committee said undergraduate arts and humanities students who graduated last year earned an average salary of HKD22,416 per month, up from HKD21,000 the previous year.

An analysis of census statistics by a think tank last year found that the median salary for graduates aged 20 to 24 in 2022 was HK$17,424 per month.

Yukina Ikawa, 21, a Japanese graduate from the University of Hong Kong, is optimistic about her income, however.

She said she was hired by a Japanese company and was confident she could earn more than the median monthly salary.

But Ikawa added that she also values ​​personal fulfillment over professional success and money.

“Happiness is the most important thing to me,” she said. “I don’t have any crazy goals.”

“My family is able to provide me with a good living, so I’m not going to make money my priority,” she said. “What’s more important is that I can do what I love and be happy.”

But Ken Ng, 23, who studied China and international relations at the University of Hong Kong, bucked the trend and said his ambition was to become a “first-generation rich person.”

“Investing in cryptocurrencies, US stocks, working, starting a business – I will have full development,” he added.

“I believe the entry-level salary for graduates from the Faculty of Arts is only HKD 15,000, which is pitiful. So I need a series of investments to combat inflation.”

Alexa Chow Yee-ping, managing director of AMAC Human Resources Consultants, said graduates have shifted their priority from money to work-life balance in recent years and may prefer part-time or freelance jobs to full-time positions.

She said employers should also focus on retaining younger employees by offering non-financial incentives to improve their work-life balance and mental health.

These included limited overtime, more public holidays, a better working environment and hiring assistants to help with daily tasks such as dry cleaning clothes.

Chow said people were generally more affluent than in the past and families generally did not put much pressure on their children to become financially independent.

“This is not good news for employers, because graduates are more carefree in their work,” she said. “It is difficult for them to find new reliable talent.”