Commuting assignments in mainland China: cost and benefits of cross‐border work arrangements

Abstract

With the close economic relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland, work‐related commuting across the border is emerging as a common work/family arrangement in Hong Kong. To examine the costs and benefits of this at the individual and family levels, a cross‐sectional survey with quota sampling was conducted. The target group of the survey was couples with one spouse working across the border and their children between the ages of 8–17, if there were any. A resilience perspective was adopted to address both the positive and negative impacts of the work arrangement on family relationships.

Findings of the survey indicate that disruption in the fulfillment of parental obligations is the most significant cost of the cross border work arrangement. Fathers are more likely to be marginalized in their parental role due to their higher frequency of travel and limited contacts with the children. For mothers with children at dependent age, limitations in parental involvement due to the work arrangement bring a strong sense of guilt. Work‐family conflict significantly intensified their intention to end the cross‐border work. On the other hand, the results indicate that commuting assignments can be stimulating and enriching to a marriage. To maximize the benefits of the cross‐border work arrangement and minimize its negative impacts, family‐friendly work policies and a family‐friendly work schedule are strongly recommended. Successful coping strategies and the necessary resources for the successful adjustment should be further examined.

随着香港与内地密切的经济关系，与跨境工作有关的工作/家庭安排正成为一个在香港常见的现象。为了研究这种安排在个人和家庭层面上的成本效益，作者进行了一个具有代表性的配额抽样调查。调查的对象是其中一方需跨境工作的夫妇；以及如他们有子女的话，子女的年龄必须介乎8至17岁之间。本研究同时处理跨境工作安排对家庭关系的正面和负面影响。

调查结果发现，未能履行父母的义务是跨境工作安排最大的成本。由于频密的跨境工干和跟子女的接触有限，父亲更容易被排斥于其父亲的角色以外。由于跨境工作的安排以致未能与仍然是依赖年龄的子女有更多的联系，也为母亲带来强烈的罪疚感。工作与家庭的冲突大大增加了他们结束跨境工作的意愿。另一方面，研究发现这种工作安排可以刺激和丰富婚姻。为了发挥跨境工作安排最大的好处，并尽量减少其负面影响，作者强烈建议有利雇员发展家庭生活的工作安排。有效的的应对战略和所须的资源则需要进一步的研究。

Keywords:

• commuting assignments
• cross‐border work arrangement
• Hong Kong
• Mainland China
• family adjustment

Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was substantially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. CUHK4568/05H). This paper is revised from a conference paper presented at the 15th International Employment Relations Association Conference on 9–13 July 2007 in Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, England.