Hong Kong Bankers Might As Well Be Quiet Quitting Now
This market downturn has brought some welcome breathing room. Just be ready when it all kicks off again.
What happens when the worker bees don’t work?
Photographer: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images
Quiet quitting, where you don’t quit the job but no longer subscribe to the culture that work is your life, is alien to Hong Kong’s diligent finance worker bees. But conditions are ripe for them to stop hustling for a while. Say no to 12-hour days and late-night conference calls.
This year, few are expecting blow-out bonuses that would give them the financial freedom to, say, retire by 50. Equity sales receive commissions when there is trading. But turnover on the Hong Kong bourse has been at its lowest in two years, as the Hang Seng Index bleeds towards the March 2020 low.