The continual smog affecting the country’s major cities has created problems in terms of recruiting workers at foreign-invested companies as expatriates fear to put their own and their families’ health at risk, industry insiders said.<\/p>\n
The biggest issue is not so much investment or business decisions but recruitment, according to Roland Decorvet, chairman and chief executive officer of Nestle for the Greater China Region.<\/p>\n
“We are really struggling to persuade people to move to Beijing – especially people with children,” he told China Daily.<\/p>\n
“We certainly don’t want to increase our offices here. We’d rather increase them in places other than Beijing.”<\/p>\n
Decorvet said the company has made an effort to clean the offices’ air and has given subsidies to employees for air cleaners at home.<\/p>\n
But what employees worry about most is their children, said Decorvet, who as of May 1 is leaving Nestle to take a position at Mercy Ships, a charity organization.<\/p>\n
The Swiss native will be succeeded by John Cheung, who is from Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
For its part, Panasonic Corp of China said that it is paying a “hazard bonus for those foreign employees located in a challenging environment”.<\/p>\n
In negotiations this spring, revisions of salaries and labor conditions were discussed based on the air quality in China, the company’s communication office said. But no decision was made.<\/p>\n
The Financial Times reported on March 12 that the Japanese electronic company would offer air pollution compensation to their workers in China.<\/p>\n
Panasonic is not the first to subsidize expats living in smog-affected cities, but it is the first to acknowledge that the allowance is specifically related to smog, according to Max Price, partner of Antal International China, a recruitment specialist based in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Price from Antal called it a dangerous precedent, which could be seen as putting a price on the health of individual workers.<\/p>\n
Employers already are offering extra health insurance for foreign workers in China, with some companies “pollution-proofing” their buildings with air filters and window sealing, he said.<\/p>\n
Such situations have become more prevalent. Some foreign professionals have decided that enough is enough and have asked for repatriation or an assignment away from China, according to Price.<\/p>\n
“It is becoming more of a factor as time progresses. Polluted air is a major issue for foreign professionals, especially those looking to move to China with families,” he said.<\/p>\n
The pollution issue used to be offset by significantly higher salaries, but with the cost of living rising in expat areas, the salary benefit is not as attractive, Price noted.<\/p>\n
Della Peng, human resources director for ManpowerGroup China, a workforce solution provider, said she is aware of the issues surrounding smog.<\/p>\n
“Some enterprises could find it hard to recruit foreign employees if the air situation is not improved,” said Peng.<\/p>\n
Several managers have been transferred out from China due to the problem, she said.<\/p>\n
But she said that, overall, the allure of working in China – one of the most crucial markets for international companies – still outweighs environmental issues, which are likely to be improved in the future.<\/p>\n
In addition, she said, employers are making efforts to balance the costs and opportunities. For example, despite the concerns over smog, the number of inbound visitors last year has increased, she said.<\/p>\n
Measures taken by foreign-invested companies to lure more expatriates include subsidies to those assigned to smog-affected regions or implementation of flexible working hours, she said. Many companies have moved expatriate professionals to less-polluted cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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