3M Hong Kong setting trends for work in the future

• "Work Your Way" offers three work modes for staff to achieve work-life balance
• Orientation Program helps newbies quickly integrate into the workforce
• Assistance Program to promote staff's mental health
• 3MHK Love and Care Volunteer Team goes the extra mile to strengthen corporate spirit through charitable activities

Three years on, the pandemic continues to alter the global business environment, corporate operation strategies and workers' attitudes towards life. According to a worldwide workforce survey, one in five workers plan to quit their jobs within a year (Great Resignation not over: 20% of workers will quit in 2022 | World Economic Forum (weforum.org) ). Now, more people are taking "working remotely" into account, rather than "working overtime", when pondering upon their working conditions. While employees of other companies in Hong Kong are returning to their offices, 3M Hong Kong keeps up the flexible "Work Your Way", allowing staff members to agilely arrange their working hours and locations according to their own work, personal and family needs, and individual situations affected by the pandemic. The company has also launched an orientation programme for the new recruits, set up Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to take care of employees' mental well-being, and the 3MHK Love and Caring Volunteer Team mobilized staff members to participate in charitable activities together. By caring for the employees, 3M was ranked #6 on the Great Places to Work's List of the World's Best Workplaces in 2021 ( World's Best Workplaces™ 2021 | Great Place To Work®). The company believes that such a new operating model will forge closer relationships among staff members, enhance service quality and efficiency, and promote cultural inclusion, setting new trends for work in the future.

3M "Work Your Way" – 3 flexible work modes to reduce rental expenses and improve employees' health and productivity

People are more concerned about work-life balance after the impact of the pandemic, and 3M Hong Kong believes such change is good for both employees' health and corporate sustainability. The concept of flexible work mode was introduced in 3M Hong Kong as early as 2016. In 2020, the workforce moved to the new office, designed with the "activity-based" shared workplace and adaptable collaboration zones in mind. To align with the company's global strategy, 3M Hong Kong implemented the "Work Your Way" policy in January 2022. There are three flexible work modes under the policy, namely "remote", "hybrid", and "mainly onsite". Department heads and staff members can work out together their work locations according to their jobs and personal needs, and working hours can also be flexibly arranged by considering individual needs. 3M Hong Kong believes employers should care for their employees with an open and trusting approach. By providing a flexible work/collaborative model based on mutual trust, employers can attract and keep talent, nurture them, make work less stressful, and enhance their job satisfaction and productivity. In addition, the shared workplace and adaptable collaboration zones also help reduce rental costs. After implementing the policy for nearly a year, the company has been promoting employees' well-being, achieving business and performance targets, smoothly navigating through the difficult situations of the pandemic, and fulfilling the brand promise of "3M Science. Applied to Life. ™".

Remote work mode - Mother of 3 picks up kids from school during lunchtime, gets more focused and disciplined while working remotely, and maintains better communication with colleagues

Hera Chan has been working in the Customer Service Operation Department at 3M for over a decade. As a mother of 3 children, both work and family are equally important to her, and she must manage her time efficiently. She opts for "remote working" under "Work Your Way" and admits there's no going back to the old way of work. With the impact of the pandemic, the children's school hours became very unpredictable – sometimes it was half-day at school, sometimes the school was closed, or there were online classes at home. And, when her domestic helper left and no suitable helping hand was in sight, she had no choice but to take care of the family.

After choosing to work from home under "Work Your Way", she saves nearly 3 hours of travelling to and from work daily and has no more worries about traffic jams. She can prepare breakfast for the family, pick up the youngest kid from school during the one-hour lunch break from work, and guide her children to do homework immediately after 5 pm when she is off. Hera is more disciplined and focused when working from home as she is now responsible for herself. She also gets used to staying in touch with her department on the go through instant messaging software, which has led to better communication with colleagues. Since she is required to work alternate shifts, remote working reduces the chance of viral infection or isolation/ quarantine that may cause service interruptions, giving her peace of mind to focus on her work. She also has a closer relationship with her kids and can start training them to do chores and share responsibilities.

Mixed work mode – schedule meetings flexibly, save commute time, and achieve balance among work, family and social life

Nikki Wan works for 3M Digital Operations, Asia Pacific in Hong Kong, and enjoys the flexibility and efficiency of the "hybrid" work mode. On those days, in addition to the 9-to-6 working hours, she had to schedule online meetings, some at 7 am or others at 10 pm, with colleagues in different time zones. Now, the flexible working hours suit her very well. She slashes 2.5 hours of daily travel to and from work, spends more time at work, cares for the family and pets, and does chores. But she still returns to the office once a week to meet colleagues from other departments face-to-face and actively takes part in the "3M Club" to organize recreational activities for 3Mers. She is glad to balance work, family and in-the-flesh social life.

Orientation programme for quick adaptation and counselling program to care for staff's mental health

Renowned for ceaseless innovations, 3M understands that mutual communication and understanding is the key to corporate success. Because of the lingering pandemic and the new work modes, some employees might suffer from chronic fatigue or adaptation issues, 3M thus launched various programs and activities to help the staff, including an orientation program, the Employee Assistance Program (EPA), or the charitable activities organized by 3MHK Love and Care Volunteer Team. The orientation programme comprises a series of orientation guides, videos and video conferences, and the New Employee Opportunity Network (NEON) helps new employees build social networks, connect with the global 3Mers community, and integrate into the corporate culture while working remotely. The EAP program helps employees with mental health concerns. A counselling hotline, leadership guidance and training are set up to help mitigate their negative emotions. In fact, 90% of 3M employees worldwide have reported feeling cared for and supported by the company.

3MHK Love and Care Volunteer Team promotes corporate spirit and enhances communication and collaboration via charitable activities

To give back to the community and improve bonding among colleagues, 3MHK Love and Care Volunteer Team have been organizing various charitable and social service activities, such as Walk for Millions, A Day with Food Angel, and Tree Care Day. The Team also encourage 3Mers to serve the community with their expertise. Within a few months, 3Mers has contributed more than 538 hours, and 3M technologies have improved the lives of over 100 thousand people in need.

In November, about 100 3Mers and their family and friends joined the Community Chest's New Territories Walk for Millions to raise funds for 24 member agencies which provide Family and Child Welfare Services. To add more fun to the first in-person charity walk after 2-year hiatus, 3M organized an internal photo contest with the theme "Love". The participating 3Mers could share the unforgettable moments on the Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O, which had not yet opened to regular traffic then. The contest boosted corporate morale and increased communication and collaboration among the workforce.