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As Hong Kong’s population ages, new research highlighted the importance of caregiver-friendly workplace policies in helping to reduce depression among working caregivers.
Caregiver-friendly workplace policies could play a critical role in supporting employee wellbeing, with new research finding that working caregivers who use such measures experience lower levels of depression and caregiving-related stress.
The Hong Kong Working Caregivers’ Mental Well-being Survey, led by Professor Bobo Lau from Tung Wah College’s School of Arts and Humanities, surveyed 566 full-time, part-time, and self-employed working caregivers aged between 21 and 73, alongside 30 unpaid caregivers. Most respondents cared for family members or older relatives living with chronic illnesses (60%) or disabilities (27%), with care recipients averaging 70 years old.
The findings found that nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) reported experiencing a heavy caregiving burden. At the same time, more than four in five (82%) said caregiving had given them a sense of purpose and fulfilment.
Among the caregiver-friendly workplace measures available to respondents, flexible working hours were the most commonly used (33%), followed by part-time arrangements (17%), working from home (13%), and compressed working weeks (12%).
Notably, flexible working hours and remote work arrangements emerged as the most effective measures for reducing both caregiving burden and psychological stress. Respondents also cited flexible support, such as the ability to take leave in hourly increments, as helping them better manage complex caregiving responsibilities.
Despite these benefits, uptake remains relatively low. While nearly 70% of respondents said their employers offered at least one caregiver-friendly measure, more than half had never used them.
Caregiver-friendly policies linked to better mental wellbeing
The research found a clear connection between workplace support and employee wellbeing. Respondents who used caregiver-friendly workplace measures reported fewer depressive symptoms and a lower caregiving burden than those who did not.
Among respondents who had used caregiver-friendly measures, 45% recorded depression scores above the average level, compared with 55% among those who had not accessed such support.
A similar trend was observed in caregiving burden. Employees who used workplace support measures were less likely to report above-average levels of caregiving stress than those who did not.
Broader support services fall short of caregivers’ needs
Beyond the workplace, the study also identified gaps in Hong Kong’s wider caregiver support ecosystem.
Many support services continue to operate primarily during standard office hours, making them difficult for working caregivers to access. Day-care services, emotional support programmes, and information resources often fail to align with the schedules of working adults.
Professor Lau said that as Hong Kong transitions into a ‘super-aged society’, greater attention must be given to supporting working caregivers.
With the right workplace and community support in place, she believes that employment and caregiving need not be competing responsibilities, but can coexist and reinforce each other.
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