A survey has found that Hong Kong employees hold a cautious and wait-and-see attitude toward their future job prospects, with only 28% of respondents feeling optimistic, 32% neutral, and 40% expressing pessimism.
The "2026 Hong Kong Salary Satisfaction Survey Report," released by recruitment platform Jobsdb by SEEK, was conducted in February 2026 by an independent market research agency through an online questionnaire of 1,010 employed individuals in Hong Kong.
About 70% of surveyed employees believed they received "fair or generous" remuneration packages, yet only 34% were actually satisfied with their pay. This reflects that while most employees in Hong Kong consider their salaries to be in line with market levels, they still expect compensation that better matches their personal contributions.
To secure desired pay, 48% of respondents had proactively requested a salary increase from their companies. Among those who took the initiative, 77% successfully obtained a raise, indicating that proactive negotiation increases the likelihood of tangible returns.
The survey was also conducted across eight operating markets in SEEK's Asia-Pacific region. The three markets with the highest proportion of employees proactively requesting pay raises were Indonesia (64%), the Philippines (60%), and Malaysia (56%). Hong Kong recorded the lowest proportion in the region, with only 48% having proactively sought a raise.
Among Asia-Pacific markets, Thailand (86%), the Philippines (85%), and Indonesia (83%) reported higher success rates in securing pay raises. Hong Kong ranked as the third lowest in success rate in the region. Among Hong Kong respondents who requested a raise, 77% succeeded — a rate only higher than Singapore (73%) and New Zealand (76%).
The survey also indicated that the outlook on job prospects is one of the factors affecting employees' confidence in salary negotiations. Among respondents who were optimistic about job prospects, 58% felt comfortable requesting a pay raise. In contrast, only 19% of those with a pessimistic outlook felt the same, suggesting that the former group's confidence in salary negotiations was nearly three times higher than that of the latter.
Regarding strategies after a rejected pay raise request, the largest proportion of respondents (24%) said they would look for a new job. Another 16% would negotiate again with their direct supervisors or human resources departments, while 16% said they would accept the outcome but admitted it would affect their work motivation.
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