The staff turnover rate in Hong Kong has declined significantly while the absence rate has increased.
According to the Fourth Quarter 2008 Survey of Manpower Statistics conducted by Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM), the overall turnover rate for Q4 2008 was 2%, lower than in the previous quarter by 2.23 percentage points and lower than the same period in 2007 by 1.08 percentage points.
The highest turnover was recorded in retail (5.18%), followed by telecommunications (2.61%) and property development / real estate / construction (2.57%). In terms of staff grade, the highest turnover rate was among clerical / frontline staff (2.35%), followed by middle management / non-managerial professionals (1.82%).
HKIHRM comments that the turnover rate has declined because the economic crisis has led to a year-end slowdown in labour market. ¡§Employees were less active in changing jobs, ¡§ says HKIHRM President Wilfred Wong Kam-pui.
The economic crisis has also given rise to negative impact on employee health, and the survey has found that the absence rate has increased to 1.62% in Q4 2008 as compared to 1.37% in Q3 2008 and 1.58% in Q4 2007. The highest absence rate was recorded in retail (2.8%), followed by community / social / personal services (2.3%). In terms of staff grade, clerical / frontline staff recorded the highest absence rate (1.49%).
Wong advises employers to pay more attention to employee wellness issues in order to reduce employee absenteeism and related health costs, thereby enhancing workforce productivity and job satisfaction.
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