Work–life balance among higher-education professionals in Hong Kong and Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic

Figures & data

Figure 1. Theoretical framework based on the JD-R model.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of respondents.

	Hong Kong		Thailand
	Obs.	Percent	Obs.	Percent
Gender
Male	525	37.5	156	39.0
Female	875	62.5	244	61.0
Age
20–29	203	14.5	39	9.8
30–39	624	44.6	143	35.8
40–49	318	22.7	140	35.0
50–59	205	14.6	65	16.3
60 and above	50	3.6	13	3.3
Education
Associate degree	41	2.9	2	0.5
Bachelor’s degree	338	24.1	98	24.5
Master’s degree	467	33.4	136	34.0
Doctoral degree	520	37.1	164	41.0
Others	34	2.4
Marital status
Never married	574	41.0	202	50.5
Married	781	55.8	185	46.3
Widowed	11	0.8	4	1.0
Divorced	30	2.1	8	2.0
Separated	4	0.3	1	0.3
Mode of employment
Full time	1365	97.5	398	99.5
Part time	35	2.5	2	0.5
Position
Teaching staff	581	41.5	180	45
Non-teaching staff	819	58.5	220	55
Employment status
Permanent/tenured	287	20.5	315	78.8
Contract	1113	79.5	85	21.3
Length of work at the university
Less than 1 year	95	6.8	26	6.5
1 year to less than 5 years	624	44.6	101	25.3
5 years to less than 10 years	323	23.1	76	19.0
10 years to less than 15 years	170	12.1	59	14.8
15 years to less than 20 years	55	3.9	55	13.8
20 years and above	133	9.5	83	20.8
Average number of working hours per week at this university
Less than 30 hours	48	3.4	12	3.0
30 hours to less than 40 hours	239	17.1	128	32.0
40 hours to less than 50 hours	744	53.1	179	44.8
50 hours and above	369	26.4	81	20.3
Number of immediate family members living together in the household (including yourself)
Alone	202	14.4	52	13.0
2	396	28.3	71	17.8
3	387	27.6	85	21.3
4	316	22.6	112	28.0
5 and above	99	7.1	80	20.0
Family characteristics
Alone	202	14.4	80	20.0
Nuclear family	1021	72.9	236	59.0
Extended family	177	12.6	84	21.0
Number of children (aged 0–12) living together in your nuclear family
None	983	70.2	289	72.3
1	231	16.5	75	18.8
2 or more	186	13.3	36	9.0
Number of elderly people (aged 60 and above) living together in your nuclear family (including yourself)
None	911	65.1	162	40.5
1	244	17.4	116	29.0
2 or more	245	17.5	122	30.5
Number of household members who earn income in the nuclear family (including yourself)
1	472	33.7	81	20.3
2	707	50.5	177	44.3
3	157	11.2	70	17.5
4 or more	64	4.6	72	18.0
Number of domestic helpers
None	1065	76.1	305	76.3
1 or more	335	23.9	95	23.8

Table 2. Statistics for resource and demand factors and WLB outcome factors.

	All staff						Teaching staff						Non-teaching staff
	Hong Kong		Thailand		Wilcoxon’s rank sum test		Hong Kong		Thailand		Wilcoxon’s rank sum test		Hong Kong		Thailand		Wilcoxon’s rank sum test
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	z	p Value	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	z	p Value	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	z	p Value
Work resources and work demands	3.206	0.588	3.321	0.675	−3.570	.000	3.087	0.635	3.140	0.718	−0.739	.460	3.289	0.525	3.502	0.577	−5.097	.000
Family resources and family demands	3.344	0.636	3.604	0.637	−6.969	.000	3.285	0.681	3.430	0.634	−2.732	.006	3.368	0.580	3.778	0.592	−7.915	.000
Personal resources and personal demands	3.143	0.729	3.179	0.802	−0.961	.337	2.911	0.740	2.951	0.818	−0.483	.629	3.326	0.657	3.408	0.717	−1.379	.168
Family-friendly policies	2.761	0.767	2.730	0.959	0.606	.544	2.801	0.805	2.515	0.924	4.258	.000	2.770	0.721	2.945	0.946	−2.942	.003
Work–life balance	3.045	0.881	3.166	0.960	−2.621	.009	2.859	0.982	2.915	1.009	−0.510	.610	3.185	0.756	3.418	0.838	−4.089	.000
Work outcomes	3.329	0.607	3.611	0.718	−7.566	.000	3.370	0.656	3.531	0.737	−2.995	.003	3.299	0.562	3.691	0.691	−7.301	.000
Family outcomes	3.776	0.662	4.080	0.684	−8.579	.000	3.803	0.670	3.971	0.790	−3.659	.000	3.765	0.628	4.188	0.539	−8.340	.000
Personal outcomes	3.290	0.744	3.383	0.847	−2.197	.028	3.449	0.739	3.377	0.922	1.081	.280	3.176	0.700	3.389	0.767	−3.749	.000

Significant level at p < .05.

Table 3. Spearman’s correlation coefficients regarding resource and demand factors and WLB outcome factors.

	All staff						Teaching staff						Non-teaching staff
	Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes		Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes		Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes
	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH	HK	TH
Work resources and work demands	0.632	0.716	0.246	0.368	0.507	0.667	0.695	0.746	0.277	0.352	0.542	0.568	0.624	0.673	0.221	0.359	0.542	0.568
Family resources and family demands	0.284	0.389	0.475	0.579	0.355	0.384	0.358	0.417	0.503	0.544	0.367	0.246	0.243	0.323	0.451	0.616	0.367	0.246
Personal resources and personal demands	0.482	0.581	0.279	0.416	0.455	0.645	0.575	0.585	0.306	0.393	0.523	0.615	0.469	0.555	0.247	0.417	0.523	0.615
Family-friendly policies	0.441	0.552	0.233	0.229	0.408	0.603	0.458	0.536	0.263	0.281	0.393	0.659	0.417	0.554	0.199	0.150	0.393	0.659
Work–life balance	0.531	0.675	0.305	0.408	0.439	0.670	0.600	0.695	0.296	0.410	0.506	0.569	0.508	0.643	0.287	0.346	0.506	0.569

HK: Hong Kong; TH: Thailand.

All correlation coefficients are significantly different from zero at the .05 significance level.

Table 4. Comparison of the correlations between resource and demand factors and WLB outcome factors for Hong Kong and Thailand university staff (fisher z-transformation).

	All staff						Teaching staff						Non-teaching staff
	Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes		Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes		Work outcomes		Family outcomes		Personal outcomes
	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p	z	p
Work resources and work demands	−2.719	.003	−2.386	.009	−4.331	.000	−1.289	.099	−1.010	.156	−4.151	.000	−1.026	.152	−1.831	.034	−0.456	.324
Family resources and family demands	−2.073	.019	−2.530	.006	−0.586	.279	−0.842	.200	−0.685	.247	−1.821	.034	−1.055	.146	−2.819	.002	1.622	.052
Personal resources and personal demands	−2.422	.008	−2.745	.003	−4.871	.000	−0.183	.428	−1.203	.115	−3.151	.001	−1.416	.078	−2.325	.010	−1.654	.049
Family-friendly policies	−2.589	.005	0.082	.467	−4.648	.000	−1.258	.104	−0.236	.407	−2.861	.002	−2.183	.015	0.613	.270	−4.554	.000
Work–life balance	−2.166	.015	−2.084	.019	−5.969	.000	−1.993	.023	−1.582	.057	−5.455	.000	−2.464	.007	−0.795	.213	−1.075	.141

Significant level at p < .05.

Table

Variables	Statements
Work resources and work demands	The salary and welfare I received from the university are fair and competitive. My university offers a good career opportunity to me. I can decide the priority of my work order. My supervisor uses his or her influence to help me to solve my work-related problems. My supervisor encourages and supports me to attend training and capacity-building programs that help me to do my job better. My supervisor welcomes ideas and thoughts from me. I have access to facilities (e.g. lab, classroom, meeting room, library, etc.) in the university when need arises. My colleague can substitute for me when I am on leave. I rarely have to work overtime. I am able to do the assigned work without worries and stress. After work, I never feel drained because of work stress. The promotion (or tenure-application) process has NOT brought extra pressure on my job. The emphasis of the university on improving its global university rankings has NOT brought extra pressure on my job.
Family resources and family demands	My family can help handle family matters. My family show their support when I have work and personal problems. My family is NOT entirely dependent on my income. I do NOT have to look after my family after work. I have enough quality time with my family. I can handle my family responsibilities.
Personal resources and personal demands	I have time and resources to look after my physical and mental health. I have strong faith/belief to hold on to. I can reach out for help from others when I have problems. I do NOT (or rarely) spend time on work on weekends or holidays. I have time for my hobbies. I am satisfied with my current personal development. When I am on vacation, I am able to detach myself from work and enjoy myself.
Family-friendly policies	My university provides welfare that covers my family members. My university has flexible policies that allow me to balance my work–family life. My university arranges social functions at times suitable for families.
Work outcomes	I am satisfied with my work. I have never thought of changing my job. I am driven to improve my work performance. I never feel burnout with my current work. My work performance is above average. I find my professional expertise and job performance to be duly recognized and appreciated by the career advancement and reward system. I have a good relationship with my colleagues.
Family outcomes	I can count on my family when I have problems. My family and I can look after each other. My work and personal matters could never distract me from my family. I am happy to be part of this family. I have a good relationship with my family.
Personal outcomes	I have good physical and mental health. My work compensation is sufficient to fulfill my personal needs. I have enough savings to live without future worries. I am proud to tell others about my profession. I have a good career path in my profession. My work helps me to realize my ultimate capability.
Work–life balance	It is easy for me to balance the demands of my work and my personal and family life. My job at the university allows adequate work and personal/family life balance. Flexible working arrangements and other family-friendly policies enable me to focus more on my work. All in all, I feel successful in balancing work and personal/family life.