Service sector staff more stressed since pandemic: HKU

University of Hong Kong (HKU) researchers on Tuesday said stress levels of employees in the service industry must be dealt with for the SAR to further promote the hospitality sector. HKU's business school, together with the Hong Kong Association for Customer Service Excellence (HKACE), conducted three rounds of studies during and after Covid, involving about 1,000 employees in the service industry. They said they found that employees are now more stressed out, with almost 45 percent reporting they frequently experienced burnout in the post-pandemic period, up from 15 percent during the Covid crisis. Bennett Yim, a marketing professor with the school, described the survey findings as "shocking", adding that people had had high hopes for society to rebound after Covid. "Businesses have not improved substantially. A lot of the organisations and companies on one hand want to rebuild their business, and at the same time, customers also have high expectations in the post-Covid period," Yim said. "When the two things come together, they're putting a lot of pressure on employees who are providing services to customers." Yim said the stress issues of employees, especially frontline workers, must be addressed for the city to further promote the hospitality sector. "We see more tourists returning to Hong Kong. At the same time, we see a manpower shortage, particularly in the service industry. Because of that, it adds more stress to the employees which certainly affects the service provided to tourists," he said. HKACE honorary advisor Buston Chu said employers should provide workers with flexible arrangements, and also enhance their engagement. "Get your employees involved. Let them know their purpose and that they are a very important stakeholder to make Hong Kong a place of hospitality. I think this is something the management have to do," Chu said.